The Europa League anthem was mistakenly played moments before the Champions League quarter-final between Aston Villa and Paris Saint-Germain in a strange mix-up.
After PSG emerged 3-1 ahead from the first leg in Paris last week, Unai Emery’s side return to Villa Park hoping to overturn a two-goal deficit in the club’s biggest European fixture in more than 40 years.
The 1982 European Cup winners are hoping to knock-out the Ligue 1 winners and progress to the last four, though at least one person in attendance was confused about the competition in which they were playing.
With the players from both teams emerging into a soggy April night, the wrong music was played as the two sides traded handshakes, with the Europa League anthem blaring to a confused reaction around the ground.
Once the anthem had concluded, the Champions League anthem was eventually played, allowing fans to provide vocal accompaniment to its final line.
Composed by Tony Britten in 1992, the theme of the competition formerly known as the European Cup is based on Handel’s Zadok the Priest, and runs to about three minutes in full length with two short verses and the chorus. The lyrics are in Uefa’s three official languages: English, French, and German.
The Europa League anthem is a more recent addition: the current tune was adopted at the start of the 2018-19 season, and is also used in the Conference League.
