Scotland vs England: FA forced to intervene to stop England supporters' official band accompanying 'IRA' chants at Celtic Park

The Football Association intervened last night to stop the England supporters’ official band from accompanying the away support at Celtic Park in their chant of “F*** the IRA” during the 3-1 win over Scotland.

The travelling support chanted about the IRA for long periods of the first half to a beat kept by the England band, who have what the FA describes as a “semi-official” relationship with the governing body. Members of the band were contacted during the game by FA officials and asked not to play the tune in question to discourage the chant during the second half.

Asked about it afterwards, England manager Roy Hodgson said he “did not condone” abusive chants. “My concentration was on the football match. I was aware the crowd were tremendously supportive. I didn't have a clue what they were chanting ... I heard a few about Gordon Strachan.

“But unfortunately chanting and people singing songs which no one in football condones goes on. I don't condone it. If anyone was offended, I'm sure the FA would apologise to them. All we can do is play our football and hope our fans behave themselves and enjoy our football.”

Wayne Rooney scored two goals tonight to take him within three of Sir Bobby Charlton’s 49-goal England record that has stood for more than 40 years. Only Charlton and Gary Lineker, on 48 goals, have scored more times for England than Rooney who could break the record before his 30 birthday next year.

Rooney said: “It is fantastic as a footballer to play in these games. We knew it would be a big atmosphere and to be honest we expected to win the game. We are a better team and we showed that tonight.

“The qualifiers are the important games for us but this is a massive game. Tonight is a fantastic victory against a Scotland team in good form. I'm enjoying my football. I've always loved playing for England, I'm on a good run of goals and I hope that continues. If that means I break the record then I'll be delighted.”

It is the best run of form for the national team since 2006 when they last won six games in a row. They do not play again until March when Hodgson’s team face Italy in Turin. Hodgson said that Rooney could break both Charlton’s goalscoring record and Peter Shilton’s 125-cap appearance record.

Hodgson said: “Records and milestones are important. It must be nice for him to think he'll see his name at the top of the list, and a record number of caps in his sight too. He must keep his fitness, but he won't be the first one to retire from football.”

The England manager praised his team’s approach to the game for which they set a high tempo that the Scots struggled to live with. “If you watch the game against Slovenia we played with exactly the same intensity, and Estonia before that. That's what we're trying to do. There was a moment after 15 or 16 minutes where we lost it for a short period of time, but we got the message on the field and locked in a lot quicker.”