“They didn’t understand what was happening”: at the Channel One Cup they mixed up the anthems of the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan

One of the two final matches of the Channel One Hockey Cup was overshadowed by an unpleasant incident. Before the meeting between the Czech Republic and Sweden in Moscow at the CSKA Arena, the organizers could not include the Czech anthem.

A completely extraneous tune played in the stadium, and Milos Rigi's wards only looked at each other in bewilderment. Later it turned out that it was the anthem of Kazakhstan. The technical staff of the arena quickly realized their mistake, who hastened to turn off the composition.

However, the Czech anthem was never played. The fans who came from this country saved the situation and performed the song “Kde domov můj?” Live. As a token of gratitude, hockey players began to beat clubs with ice.

“In vain, we waited for the organizers to turn on our anthem, the fans corrected the situation,” the press service of the Czech team on Twitter responded.

Marně jsme čekali, až nám pořadatelé zahrají naši hymnu, ale fanoušci to zachránili 🦁 pic.twitter.com/mUyTnqgC58

A minute later, the speaker over the speakerphone apologized to the guests, and soon apologies followed on the official website of the Russian Hockey Federation (FHR).

“Before the start of the match, due to technical overlays, instead of the anthem of the Czech Republic, the national anthem of Kazakhstan sounded. The Russian Hockey Federation expresses its sincere apologies to the Czech national team and the fans of the Czech team, ”the statement said on the Federation’s official website.

It is difficult to say how much the incident affected the team, but as a result, the Czech team was defeated - 1: 3 and allowed the opponent to guarantee his victory in the First Channel Cup. In turn, the team of Rigi finished in last place in the standings with three points in the asset. The team beat Finland in overtime, but lost to Russia in the shootout.

After the match, Rzhiga himself did not hide his emotions and did not skimp on criticism of the organizers, who failed to figure out the situation and turn on the Czech anthem.

"It's a shame. It feels like the tournament ended after the Russian team left for St. Petersburg. Not the best actions on the part of the tournament organizers. Thanks to the fans. Thanks to their singing, we heard a hymn, although there was no proper musical accompaniment, ”Rzigi quotes Isport.cz.

Defender of Podolsk “Vityaz” Yakub Yerzhabek spoke a little less emotionally about the incident. According to him, hockey players were in a stupor during the performance of hymns.

“I don’t know what happened before the game - we just looked at each other with the guys and did not understand what was happening. Was this the anthem of Kazakhstan? Amazing It is good that our fans saved the situation, ”R-Sport quoted the player.

And the official representative of the Czech national team Zdenek Tsikmund urged to take what happened calmly, because any technique sometimes fails.

“This is a technical error that can happen. But the technique was perfectly replaced by a group of our fans in the hall, ”Cikmund quotes Hokey.cz.

More details about what happened were told by Czech journalists present at the game. So, Zdenek Yanda called this situation "awkward."

“The organizers included the wrong hymn. The Czech anthem never sounded. Fortunately, Czech fans saved the situation: they spontaneously began to sing themselves. The national team players gave them a round of applause, ”Yanda wrote on Twitter.

Tak to byl trapas. Pořadatelé pustili špatnou hymnu. Na tu českou vůbec nedošlo ... Naštěstí to napravili čeští fanoušci, kteří ji spontánně začali sami od sebe zpívat. Hráči @narodnitym je pak za to odměnili potleskem ...

In addition, the author wondered if the mistake with the hymns was deliberate, although it is not clear what the organizers pursued in this case.

“Only they know it. It’s not the first time that Russians make a mistake with the anthem of another country, ”Yanda concluded in a column on the Hokej.cz portal.

However, this situation is indeed far from the first of its kind in the Channel One Cup. So, only three years ago during the tournament there were problems with the Swedish anthem. Unlike Czech, it was possible to turn it on, but only for five to ten seconds. Perplexed hockey players and fans could only shake their heads in surprise, trying to understand what was happening. Then there was also an apology from the FHR.

And just a few days later the Russian team suffered. Before the match with the Czech Republic, the anthem was to be performed by an opera singer, People's Artist of Russia Khibla Gerzmava. However, she mixed up the lines of the composition. Finally, in anticipation of the meeting with Finland, the organizers included an unrecognizable phonogram of the anthem, and Larisa Dolina performed it.