European football's governing body, Uefa, have slapped France with a 20,000 euro fine for not playing the right national anthem before their Euro 2020 qualifier on 7 September against Albania, it was revealed on Thursday.
The Andorran national anthem came over the loudspeakers at the Stade de France and in the following chaos to find the Albanian tune, the start of the match was delayed.
After the French anthem was played, the Albanians initially refused to play until their correct anthem had been heard.
The Albanian online newspaper, Albeu.com, talked of a serious blunder that took the Albanian side by surprise.
In the wake of the gaffe, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, as well as the France coach, Didier Deschamps, apologised for the blip in protocol.
Uefa's disciplinary panel sanctioned the French football federation for the late kick-off as well as selecting the wrong national anthem.
France won the match 4-1. Kingsley Coman scored twice with Olivier Giroud and Jonathan Ikone adding the other goals for hte hosts.
