FIFA World Cup 2018: England FA warned for political chants, fined over unauthorised branding

Moscow: England have escaped with a warning over political chanting by a group of fans during the World Cup semi-final against Croatia and been given a fine of 70,000 Swiss francs ($69,889) after two of their players broke FIFA’s marketing rules.[caption id="attachment_4722201" align="alignleft" width="380"] File image of England team. AFP[/caption]Global soccer body FIFA said a group of England fans had made political chants during the match in Moscow on Wednesday but its disciplinary committee ruled that they were not serious enough to warrant a fine.“The decision was taken after having analysed the respective evidence available and considered all factors surrounding the infringement, including the fact that the incident was triggered by a very small group of fans,” said FIFA in a statement. It did not give further information on the chanting.FIFA said that two England players displayed “unauthorised commercial branding on playing equipment items” in the same match. England were fined the same amount for a similar offence in their quarter-final against Sweden, although FIFA said that more players were involved than in the Croatia game.Click here for full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2018Click here to view the full schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018