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LONDON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland players Keith Gillespie and George McCartney were fined by the Irish Football Association (IFA) on Tuesday after fighting with each other on the way back from a Euro 2008 qualifier in Iceland last week.
"The IFA wishes to apologise to any members of the public who were affected in any way by the behaviour of these players," the association said in a statement.
The fight broke out between Sheffield United winger Gillespie and West Ham United defender McCartney in front of other passengers as the Icelandair flight was leaving Reykjavik for London's Heathrow airport.
Gillespie has apologised for his behaviour, which followed Northern Ireland's 2-1 defeat by Iceland in their Group F qualifier. Iceland won the match after Gillespie scored an own goal in the last minute.
The IFA added: "While the public apology from Keith Gillespie goes some way towards a recognition of that, the players concerned have been told quite categorically that such behaviour has caused unnecessary embarrassment to the IFA in the eyes of the football world and the public as a whole and will not be tolerated in future."
The IFA did not reveal the size of the fines which, it said, would be donated to charity.
