sport news Ireland FA are fined £17,000 after women's team sang IRA chant following 1-0 ... trends now

Ireland's Football Association have been fined £17,000 today after its women's team sang a pro-IRA chant following a 1-0 win over Scotland in October, which qualified them for the World Cup tournament next year.

Ireland's players were filmed dancing as they sang 'Ooh ah, up the Ra' after securing qualification to the their first ever major tournament. The song is supportive of the Irish Republican Army, who carried out a series of bombings and assassinations in their long campaign of terror with the goal of ending British rule in Northern Ireland.

The video was posted to social media, and drew a swift backlash - leading to players, Ireland manager Vera Pauw and the FAI to apologise over the incident.

European football's governing organisation UEFA fined the team, with its control, ethics and disciplinary body saying in a statement it had punished the FAI for a 'violation of the basic rules of decent conduct'.

Speaking the day after the win, Pauw said: 'It's quite right that it's taken some shine off because this goes deep into the history of Ireland.

'It doesn't matter if the players meant anything or not - because they didn't mean anything with it - it's a celebration that occurs, but that doesn't mean that they (shouldn't) realise what they're doing. 

'If it's in a private room, it should not happen either. We've hurt people and we are very, very deeply sorry for that,' she added.

'We will review this with the players and remind them of their responsibilities in this regard. I have spoken with players this morning and we are sorry collectively for any hurt caused, there can be no excuse for that.'

Pauw, who is Dutch, said the player who posted the video on their social media had been left in tears after the row, and added the incident 'does put a shadow' over the team's achievement in qualifying for the World Cup.