Scottish FA CEO Stewart Regan "looks set to join forces" with the English, Welsh and Northern Irish FAs to appeal FIFA's poppy fine, according to the Scotland DAILY RECORD. Football's governing body issued a fine of £15,700 ($19,406) to the SFA "over the Armistice Day wearing of poppies on armbands and crowd trouble in the recent World Cup qualifier against England at Wembley." Asked about whether the SFA would appeal the fine, Regan said, "We sent in our initial submission to FIFA and they have come back and issued a fine to ourselves along with the other Home Nations. We will now speak with our counterparts at England, Northern Ireland and Wales to get a perspective on whether they are going to appeal." The FA was handed the largest punishment, with a fine of 45,000 Swiss francs ($43,755) for "several incidents including the wearing of poppies and several cases of spectator misconduct." After the fine was announced, the FA said that it "intended to appeal against the fine imposed by FIFA, while the Northern Irish FA has indicated it will seek legal advice before considering its response" (DAILY RECORD, 12/19). The BBC reported former Wales int'l Iwan Roberts said that FIFA's decision to fine Wales for displaying poppies is "shocking." He said, "It's an absolutely shocking decision by FIFA, but you know what? I'm not surprised. I think at the minute they're an absolute shambles of an organization." Roberts claimed FIFA "lacks credibility and has lost the respect of fans." He added, "I know there's rules and regulations and we're governed by them, but I think it's an absolutely shambolic decision by FIFA and I do hope that Wales follow in the line of England and appeal the decision" (BBC, 12/20).
