WIN Jose’s drive to be best rubbing off onteam,saysRoo WIN Old Trafford chief vows to splash more cash on glory quest

SFA chiefs are to appeal against the fine imposed by Fifa over poppy tributes at Wembley.

The SFA, which was fined £15,692, has followed its English counterpart in deciding to challenge the sanctions, brought after the November 11 World Cup qualifier between the nations.

Scotland players wore poppies on armbands dur-

Wing their 3-0 defeat despite warnings from Fifa they could be in breach of rules relating to the display of political symbols.

Part of the fine also related to “misconduct committed by its own group of spectators”.

The FA announced its intention to appeal immediately after the Fifa sanctions were announced on December 19.

The FA was AYNEROONEY says Jose Mourinho’s winning mentality has sharpened the mind of Manchester United players. fined £35,308 over the displays, including armbands, and fan misconduct.

Fifa also issued fines over poppy displays in stadia before qualifiers involving Wales and Northern Ireland on the same weekend.

The Irish FA reluctantly accepted its fate because Fifa rules prevent appeals of sums of £12,000 and under – the upper limit was exactly the same as its fine. The FAW vowed to study the written reasons before confirming its intention.

Meanwhile, Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin will insist on European teams being given 16 slots when Fifa expands the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026.

Speaking at Uefa’s Swiss headquarters, Ceferin said this was a “realistic” request and the teams should be evenly distributed between the 16 three-team groups.

Uefa gets a minimum of 13 slots in the current 32team World Cup format but is resigned to the fact most of the new places will head to relatively under-represented Africa and Asia.

Some within European football wanted more, but Uefa leaders know three is the best deal they’ll get.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward yesterday pledged to again back manager Mourinho in the summer window, but told investors United’s squad will be more steady than in recent years.

“Are we happy with the roster at this point? Yes, I think there’s a happiness from the manager at this point, as you can tell in all his recent interviews in terms of where we are as a squad,” Woodward said.

He underlined his belief their sponsorship arm will continue to grow and announced an app based around the club’s in-house television station MUTV is to be launched globally.

United have frozen season ticket prices for the sixth year in a row and Woodward explained why. “I think the number one most important thing is a full stadium, the second is a noisy stadium and we are committed to keeping that,” he said.