A £17,000 fine has been handed to the Football Association of Ireland as punishment for the women’s team’s pro IRA chant.
The fine was handed down by UEFA who stated the expensive punishment was for “the violation of the basic rules of decent conduct”. At the time, Ireland had just beaten Scotland 1-0, thus ending their hopes of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in Australia.
They were ecstatic with the victory, singing and dancing in the changing room to crown the moment. However, one of those songs was pro IRA, with the tune deriving from the song Celtic Symphony written by the Wolfe Tones.
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A statement released by the FAI said, “The Football Association of Ireland notes and accepts the sanction by the Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body of UEFA following UEFA’s independent investigation into a potential breach of UEFA’s Disciplinary Regulations.
“The FAI and the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team has apologised to all affected by events after the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Play-Off against Scotland in Hampden Park in October.
“The FAI has assured UEFA that all players and staff across all of our international teams have been, and will continue to be, reminded of their responsibilities every time they represent their country.”
(Image: irishmirror)
At the time, the team had to issue a very swift apology for the song which also prompted Police Scotland to launch an investigation. The team’s manager Vera Pauw was one of the first to apologise, saying “we’ve hurt people and we are very, very deeply sorry for that.”
While many were offended by the song, they also received some very sizeable support. The controversy caused by the song even helped the original song reach number two in the UK download charts.
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