The Irish Football Association has vowed to “robustly defend” itself against the Fifa disciplinary proceedings opened in relation to the display of poppy symbols on Armistice weekend.
Fifa is probing both Northern Ireland and Wales in relation to their acts of remembrance at their World Cup qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Serbia respectively.
The global governing body announced the move despite the Irish FA and the Football Association of Wales agreeing their players would not wear poppies, unlike England and Scotland who defied the Fifa ruling with poppies on their black armbands when they met at Wembley on the same weekend.
Northern Ireland and Wales instead wore plain black armbands, but they have still fallen foul of Fifa rule 4.4 concerning political, religious or commercial messages.
An Irish FA spokesman said: “The Irish Football Association will robustly defend the disciplinary charges that have been levelled against it by Fifa regarding acts of remembrance at the World Cup qualifying match between Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan on 11th November.”
Fifa announced last week that the Football Association and the Scottish Football Association faced action, and also confirmed a further investigation into the other tributes paid at Wembley.
The English FA marked the occasion by displaying poppies on the large video screens inside and outside the stadium, distributed poppy t-shirts, held a minute’s silence before the World Cup qualifier and asked a lone bugler to play the Last Post, as well as inviting hundreds of servicemen and women to the match.
Northern Ireland held a minute’s silence, laid wreaths and displayed a poppy mosaic in the crowd while the Welsh laid wreaths at the side of the pitch and also had a crowd mosaic.
And on Wednesday morning a Fifa spokesperson said: “The Disciplinary Committee decided to open proceedings against the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Wales in relation to several incidents involving the display of poppy symbols reported after the matches Northern Ireland-Azerbaijan and Wales-Serbia respectively.”
Fifa’s match commissioner at the Northern Ireland game was Slovakia’s Renata Tomasova, while at Wales Karl Eriksen from Norway was in attendance.
Prior to the Wembley match, England and Scotland both said they were confident they would be able to successfully appeal against any punishment, particularly as they believe a clear precedent was set in 2011 when England, Scotland and Wales were allowed to wear arm bands with poppies on them during three November friendlies.
The new regime at Fifa, which is led by president Gianni Infantino and general secretary Fatma Samoura, views this very differently, however, and is determined to enforce the letter of the law when it comes to keeping what it sees as external distractions and potentially inflammatory messages out of the game.
All four nations now face the possibility of a fine, while even a World Cup qualifying points deduction is possible.
The FAW has yet to respond.
