Both Ireland and England’s football governing bodies have been fined by UEFA for incidents that occurred before and during their November Nations League match in Wembley.
Ahead of the November meeting at Wembley, Irish fans booed England’s national anthem, God Save the King, leading to a €12,500 fine for the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). Meanwhile, English fans booed Ireland’s national anthem, Amhrán na bhFiann, resulting in a €15,000 fine for the Football Association (FA).
The FA received an additional €8,375 fine after English fans threw objects onto the pitch during the game.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis of England (Photo by Catherine Ivill, AMA/Getty Images)These sanctions follow fines issued after the teams’ earlier Nations League clash in September, where Ireland lost 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium. During that match, English fans booed Amhrán na bhFiann, leading to a £10,500 (€12,500) fine for the FA, while Irish fans booed God Save The King, resulting in an £8,400 (€10,000) fine for the FAI.
The September game also saw further sanctions. The FAI was fined £7,800 (€9,250) for fans lighting flares and £5,000 (€6,000) for a pitch invasion. The FA faced a £4,150 (€5,000) fine for a similar pitch invasion.
The fines for November’s game were higher because of the cumulative nature of UEFA’s punishments and the additional incidents of misconduct, such as object-throwing (flares) on the pitch.
Ireland’s next game will be against Bulgaria in a promotion/relegation play-off with Bulgaria of League C next March