A women’s Under-19 European qualifier in Bulgaria descended into
an unexpected diplomatic embarrassment after God Save the
King was played in place of the Republic of Ireland’s national
anthem – prompting audible protests and an improvised rescue by the
Irish squad.
Dave Connell’s side had lined up before their opening match
against Sweden, turning dutifully towards the tricolour positioned
beside the dugouts. But instead of Amhrán na bhFiann, the
stadium tannoy launched into the opening bars of the British
national anthem, long associated with the monarchy and used by
England and Northern Ireland teams.
Shouts of protest erupted almost immediately. The anthem was cut
off abruptly, with the music fading into a confused silence as
officials attempted to work out what had gone wrong. For several
moments, players stood motionless, exchanging bewildered looks as
the mistake sank in.
With no correction forthcoming and the stadium still without
Ireland’s anthem queued up, the visitors acted on their own
initiative. The Irish players, joined by their coaches and
supporters, began singing Amhrán na bhFiann a cappella,
reclaiming the moment from what might otherwise have been a
significant diplomatic slight. Their unaccompanied rendition filled
the ground, met with applause from around the touchline.
Only after the anthem drama subsided did attention return to
football. Ireland briefly channelled their early composure into a
lead through Katie Lawlee, before Sweden responded with two goals
from Ella Lundin and another from Agnes Ekberg to secure a 3–1
victory.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source royalcentral.co.uk ’
