Irish FA chiefs have been hit with a 20,000 Euro fine by UEFA after their women’s team celebrated beating Scotland with a pro-IRA chant. Footage widely shared online showed the Republic of Ireland squad singing “Oh, ah, up the Ra” in their Hampden dressing room after dumping the Scots to qualify for next year’s World Cup.
The October incident sparked a storm of controversy and forced the Football Association of Ireland, their players and head coach Vera Pauw into releasing grovelling apologies. Now UEFA have revealed details of the punishment they’ve dished out after opening a disciplinary case.
European football’s governing body confirmed the FAI would be fined “for the violation of the basic rules of decent conduct”. Ireland claimed a 1-0 win in their play-off clash in Glasgow to secure qualification to the World Cup for the first time. But the players’ actions after that match drew widespread condemnation.
A spokesman for the FAI said at the time: "The Football Association of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland Ireland Women’s National Team Manager Vera Pauw apologise for any offence caused by a song sung by players in the Ireland dressing room after the FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifying Play-off win over Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night."
Pauw - who previously had a six-year stint in charge of Scotland - also said: “We apologise from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who has been offended by the content of the post-match celebrations after we had just qualified for the World Cup. We will review this with the players and remind them of their responsibilities in this regard. We are sorry collectively for any hurt caused, there can be no excuse for that.”
