Wembley Stadium's iconic arch will only be lit up for football and entertainment purposes and not to support campaigns and causes or mark tragic events in the future.

The Football Association (FA) has announced the new policy after it was criticised for after deciding not to light the arch in support of Israel, amid attacks on its citizens by Hamas.

The decision has been described as “antisemitic” by a Conservative former minister.

Sir Michael Ellis said the FA “seem to regret every death and injustice, apart from the death of Jews”.

The arch was lit in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year, and in the French tricolore after the terror attacks in Paris in 2015.

Responding to public concern, FA chief executive Mark Bullingham stated on October 19 that the organisation was reflecting on the policy surrounding the arch's lighting.

It is understood that it is unlikely to be lit in future, except for activities directly linked to Wembley's core purpose as a sport and entertainment venue.

This is expected to affect causes related to inclusion and diversity, such as lighting the arch in rainbow colours in support of the LGBTQ+ community.

However, there might be exceptions, such as with the death of a monarch or an England footballer.

Bullingham said last month: “This week has made us question whether we should light the arch and when, and we’ll be reviewing that in the coming weeks.

“I recognise that our decision caused hurt to the Jewish community, who felt that we should have lit the arch and that we should have shown stronger support for them.

“This was one of the hardest decisions we’ve had to make and the last thing we ever wanted to do in this situation was to add to the hurt.”

Criticism at the time came from numerous Jewish community groups and from Lucy Frazer, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

A Number 10 spokeswoman said yesterday (November 23): “We think it’s disappointing that the FA chose not to light up the Wembley arch out of respect to those who lost their lives in the October 7 terrorist attack.

"As we said at the time, this was something that they had done before for attacks in other countries.

“This is a decision for them, but we are very clear that there is no room for equivocation when it comes to terrorism. We think it’s right to call it out for what it is and to stand by those affected.

“Doing that, lighting up the Wembley arch, was a way of expressing solidarity and it’s disappointing they won’t be taking that forward.”

Reporting by PA.