When nothing goes … After the incredible imbroglio which concluded in the middle of the afternoon the meeting between Mali and Tunisia (1-0), a new uncontrolled slippage then took place, even before the opposition between Mauritania and Gambia, still in group F. After the end of the match whistled five minutes too early, this time it was an error in the anthem that was noted. Two incredible situations that the organizers would have done well.
There are no crowds at the Limbé stadium, in southwestern Cameroon. While the two formations are in place, the announcer announces the Mauritanian anthem. From the first notes, we read the incomprehension on the faces of the Mourabitounes, the nickname of the Mauritanian players. And for good reason: the air played is not the right one!
No problem, the sound system is responsible for relaunching the right band. Well almost, because it’s always the same hymn that goes through the speakers. Astonishment gives way to smiles, while we are agitated on the Mauritanian bench led by the French Didier Gomes Da Rosa, appointed coach to replace the former Auxerrois Corentin Martins, sacked last October.
France had not done much better
This time for sure, the third attempt will be the right one. After long seconds, a note pierces the overcast sky of Limbé … always the same, so we won’t go any further. For only its second participation in the competition, Mauritania, which ultimately lost 1-0, will not be entitled to its national anthem.
This is not the first time that this kind of incident has happened during an official competition. We thus remember the one which took place at the Stade de France in September 2019, before a certain France – Albania. The sound system then played the anthem of Andorra instead of “Hymni i Flamurit”, that of Albania. “It shouldn’t happen, but unfortunately it did,” Didier Deschamps said at the time.
It remains to be hoped that the organizers will find the right strip before Mauritania’s next match next Sunday against Tunisia.
