Russian Premier League anthem blunder: Queen song shocks crowd
The third-round match of the Russian Premier League at the Spartak Moscow stadium will go down in history, but not because of the result. Before the start of the match, the Russian national anthem was supposed to be played. However, a song by the band Queen was played instead, but that's not all. Success only came on the third attempt.
Russia's top football leagues' domestic competitions are thriving. Although footballers from local clubs do not have the opportunity to play in European cups, their league matchups are enough to create a media buzz. The organisers of Spartak Moscow matches made sure this happened.
In the third round, the team from the Russian capital faced Krylia Sovetov Samara in front of their home crowd. It's a tradition and obligation to play the Russian national anthem before each Russian Premier League match. The organisers intended to do this, but on this occasion, they failed.
Players from both teams came onto the field and lined up to listen to the national anthem together, but instead, from the speakers came... the song by Queen "We Are The Champions". They turned it off after a moment, but that wasn't the end of the mishap. On the second attempt, instead of the national anthem, they played the club anthem. It was only on the third attempt that they achieved success.
Blunder by the Russian club. Instead of the national anthem, they played a hit by Queen
Right after the anthem finished, the match began. Spartak's team was better from the start, winning 3-0 with two goals from Manfred Ugalde and one from Daniil Prutsev.
Spartak Moscow secured two wins and one loss in the first three matches of the new Russian Premier League season. They currently hold fifth place in the table. Their next match will be on 11 August. Their opponents will be the players of Akhmat Grozny.
