(Photo by Mark Runnacles - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
The Scottish FA have been hit with a £8,024 fine by FIFA for breaching FIFA Disciplinary Code Article 16 when a section of the Tartan Army jeered Israel’s national anthem ahead of the recent Scotland v Israel World Cup qualifier at Hampden.
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Ahead of the sell-out clash at the national stadium, a section of the home support booed the Israeli anthem and displayed an inappropriate flag prompting action from world football’s governing body.
FIFA’s delegate mentioned it in his match report and their disciplinary committee found Scotland had failed to ensure “order and security at matches (disturbance during national anthems, use of objects – flag – to transmit a message that is not appropriate for a sports event).”
On the pitch, it took an injury-time winner from Scott McTominay to secure the three points that kept Scotland’s hopes of reaching next year’s World Cup dreams very much alive.
While the fine is relatively small, it is something the SFA will have desperately want to have avoided after spending years cultivating a positive impression of the Tartan Army despite our absence from major tournaments which stretched 23 years.
Scotland face Moldova and Denmark later this month in their final two qualifiers, knowing a win from either would seal second place in the group and book a place in the playoffs.
Tah would then leave Clarke’s side with two games to get through if they are to become the first since France 1998 to appear at a World Cup.
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