While everyone anticipated hearing the Albanian anthem called “Himni i Flamurit” (National Flag) before the kick-off, the national anthem for Andorra was mistakenly played.
French President Emmanuel Macron. (File Photo: IANS)
President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has sent across a written apology message to Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama for a national anthem mix-up prior to a football encounter on Saturday.
“President Macron expressed his sincere apologies for the scandalous gaffe of the French Football Federation, with our anthem of National Flag! He called it an ‘unacceptable mistake’,” the same was confirmed by the Albanian Prime Minister on his twitter account.
Presidenti Macron më shprehu ndjesën e sinqertë për gafën skandaloze të Federatës Franceze të Futbollit, me himnin e Flamurit tonë Kombëtar! E cilësoi një “gabim të papranueshëm” dhe duke vlerësuar edhe reagimin e lojtarëve tanë më kërkoi publikimin e ndjesës së tij #Respekt 🇦🇱🇫🇷
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— Edi Rama (@ediramaal) September 8, 2019
Edi Rama, in fact, stated that the French President appreciated the reaction of Albania’s national football team.
Notably, in a ceremony before the match in which national anthems for both the teams are played, the wrong anthem was played for the Albanian team.
While everyone anticipated hearing the Albanian anthem called “Himni i Flamurit” (National Flag) before the kick-off, the national anthem for Andorra was mistakenly played instead which puzzled the ones present at the stadium.
To add to their woes, when the Albania national anthem was about to be played, another blunder occurred on part of the organisers as the stadium announced, “Please respect the Armenia national anthem.” This even went on to delay the match by seven minutes.
Earlier, France coach Didier Deschamps also offered a public apology and confirmed it at a press conference.
Albania went on to lose the match 1-4 to France. Albania will be up against Iceland in Elbasan Arena stadium.
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