Scottish police said they are investigating a video of the Republic of Ireland’s women’s national team singing a pro-IRA chant following their World Cup playoff victory over Scotland in Glasgow on Tuesday night.
In the video, which was widely circulated on social media, players can be seen and heard chanting: “Ooh ah, up the ‘Ra” after the historic 1-0 win at Hampden Park.
Both the Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw and the Football Association of Ireland issued apologies over the incident.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said on Thursday: “We are aware of the video and inquires into the incident are ongoing”.
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Police Scotland would not confirm whether it had been asked to investigate the incident or decided to actively investigate the matter themselves.
Uefa has confirmed it will investigate “potential inappropriate behaviour by players of the Republic of Ireland Women’s team”.
“In accordance with Article 31(4) of the Uefa disciplinary regulations, a Uefa ethics and disciplinary inspector will investigate potential inappropriate behaviour by players of the Republic of Ireland Women’s team in the aftermath of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifiers play-off second leg match played against Scotland on October 11, 2022,” a UEFA statement said.
“Information on this matter will be made available in due course.”
In a statement acknowleding the launch of the Uefa investigation, the FAI said it “again apologises for any offence caused and we will continue to review this situation accordingly to ensure that our international players and staff, across all of our teams, are aware of their responsibilities”.
Pauw said on Wednesday the squad apologised “from the bottom of our hearts to anyone who has been offended by the content of the post-match celebrations after we had just qualified for the World Cup”.
“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.”
Amber Barrett’s 72nd-minute goal sealed World Cup qualification for next year’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
