FIFA fined England 45,000 Swiss francs ($43,850, 42,000 euros) on Monday for wearing a poppy tribute to British war dead during their November 11 World Cup qualifier against Scotland. Scotland were fined 20,000 Swiss francs, while Wales and Northern Ireland were given 20,000 and 15,000 Swiss franc fines respectively for making their own tributes.
FIFA rules ban "political" symbols on shirts during official games, but the British nations denied they had breached the ban. Both sets of players and England's manager Gareth Southgate wore black armbands bearing red poppy motifs at the Wembley game, which England won 3-0. The qualifier was staged on Armistice Day, when Britain traditionally pays tribute to all of the country's war dead.
England's Football Association has already said it will contest any fine and believes its "legal position is right and our moral position is right". FIFA disciplinary committee chairman Claudio Sulser stated it was not their "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".
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