The Republic of Ireland were in Bulgaria for a Women's Under-19 European Championship qualifier against Sweden [Getty Images]Andy Gray - BBC Sport NI JournalistWed, November 26, 2025 at 10:32 PM UTC·1 min readThe Republic of Ireland's players sung an a cappella version of the national anthem after God Save the King was played by mistake ahead of a Women's Under-19 European qualifier.
The Republic of Ireland were in Bulgaria for the opening qualifier against Sweden and were standing for the national anthems ahead of the game.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAs the Irish players turned to face the flag beside the dugouts, God Save the King, the national anthem of the United Kingdom, and England and Northern Ireland in football, was played over the tanoy instead of Amhrán na bhFiann.
There were some shouts from the crowd and the anthem was quickly stopped.
After some silence and confusion, the Irish players, coaches and supporters struck up an a cappella rendition of Amhrán na bhFiann.
Katie Lawlee scored for the Republic of Ireland but two goals from Ella Lundin and a strike from Agnes Ekberg helped Sweden to a 3-1 victory.
Dave Connell's side are back in action against Poland on Saturday and face hosts Bulgaria on Tuesday.
