Scotland apologises for the booing of the Liechtenstein anthem
The Scottish Football Association has today apologised to its Liechtenstein counterpart after some Scotland fans booed the Liechtenstein national anthem.
A particularly vocal section of the Hampden support barracked the song, which has the same melody as English national anthem, God Save The Queen, ahead of the two teams meeting in a UEFA 2012 European Championship qualifying match last night.
Scotland won the match 2-1 thanks to a strike by Kenny Miller and a late Stephen McManus goal following the second-half opener by Mario Frick. The actions of some of the Scotland supporters provided the biggest talking point after the match.
'Disgraceful' actions
George Peat, the acting chief executive of the SFA, said that the booing of the Liechtenstein anthem was “disgraceful” and that he had been “embarrassed” by the jeering. He revealed that he had made a point of personally apologising to the Liechtenstein officials attending the game in private.
He said in a statement published on the SFA website that, “I was embarrassed and extremely disappointed by the disgraceful behaviour of some of our supporters during the Liechtenstein national anthem at Hampden Park last night. The Scotland fans have worked hard to earn a reputation throughout the world as fun-loving and respectful followers of football. Last night, those who chose to boo our opponents’ anthem only served to tarnish that reputation.”
Peat added that he was dismayed as Scotland’s image had been tainted by the actions of a small segment of the home support.
Scotland are now sitting at the top of Group I after last night's victory and 0-0 draw with Lithuania who themselves enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Czech Republic. Many see the Czechs as Scotland’s main rivals for the runner-up spot behind reigning European and world champions Spain, who are the overwhelming favourites to top the group.