Politics and sports intervened in the Euro 2020 Group H qualifiers, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulating his players on their precious victory over Andorra, while French President Emmanuel Macron apologized for the scandal broadcasting the Andorra anthem instead of the Albanian anthem. Recent match with France.
The Vodafone Park stadium in Istanbul witnessed the presence of President Erdogan and went to the dressing room of the Turkish team accompanied by Minister of Youth and Sports Mehmet Kassaboglu, and the President of the Turkish Football Federation Nihat Ozdemir.
Erdogan shook hands with the coaching staff and the players one by one, then congratulated them on their victory and wished them continued success.
President Erdogan congratulates the Turkish team on defeating Andorra |
The Turkish team won a valuable win over Andorra 1-0 in the fifth round of Group H, to finish second in the group after France on goal difference, each with 12 points.
Macron's apology
Albanian Prime Minister Eddie Rama said on Sunday that French President Macron had apologized for his mistake in broadcasting the national anthem on Saturday evening at the Stade de France, ahead of the two countries' Euro qualifier.
"President Macron offered me with his sincere apologies for the scandal of the FFF scandal with our national anthem," the prime minister wrote on his official Twitter account. "The French president regarded this gag as an unacceptable mistake and appreciated the reaction of our players."
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 🇦🇱🇫🇷 - Edi Rama (@ediramaal) September 8, 2019 |
The French presidency confirmed to AFP that Macron "telegramed this morning (to the Albanian official) to make an apology."
The match between France and Albania was delayed minutes after playing the Andorran anthem instead of the Albanian anthem. After initially apologizing for a "technical error", the organizers made a second mistake by "apologizing to the Armenian fans."
The French played the national anthem of Andorra their opponent next Wednesday instead of Albania their opponent tonight |
Albanian fans in the stands fired boos when the anthem was played, before the right anthem was played amid applause from the fans, to start the game after a delay of about five minutes.
The UEFA said on its website that the national anthem of Andorra played by mistake, noting that the latter will be the guest of the French team on Tuesday evening on the same pitch in the next round of qualifying.
According to sources in the coaching staff of the French national team that the head of the local federation Noel Logret apologized on Saturday night to officials in the Albanian mission, and coach Didier Deschamps did the same after the game.