Home nations fined by Fifa over poppy displays

England have been fined 45,000 Swiss francs for several breaches of Fifa's rules about displaying political symbols, the sport's governing body have confirmed.

The national team wore poppies on black armbands during their match with Scotland, despite being warned not to by Fifa, costing the Football Association just over £35,000.

Prior to kick-off, both teams participated in a minute's silence and members of the armed forces lay wreaths.

The Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales have each been fined 20,000 Swiss francs (£15,692) and the Irish Football Association 15,000 Swiss francs (£11,769) for similar offences

All of the associations were warned by to the World Cup qualifiers that they would be punished if they chose to ignore Fifa's regulations on the matter.

    England has been fined CHF 45,000 for several incidents in the framework of the England v Scotland match, including the display by the host association, the English team and spectators of a political symbol and several cases of spectator misconduct.

    Scotland, as the visiting association, has been fined CHF 20,000 for the display of the same political symbol and cases of misconduct committed by its own group of spectators.

    Wales has been fined CHF 20,000 and Northern Ireland CHF 15,000 in relation to several incidents, including the display of political symbols in the context of the Wales v Serbia and Northern Ireland v Azerbaijan matches.

– Fifa statement

Claudio Sulser, chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee, said: "With these decisions, it is not our intention to judge or question specific commemorations as we fully respect the significance of such moments in the respective countries, each one of them with its own history and background.

"However, keeping in mind that the rules need to be applied in a neutral and fair manner across Fifa's 211 member associations, the display, among others, of any political or religious symbol is strictly prohibited. In the stadium and on the pitch, there is only room for sport, nothing else."

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