It has been 12 long years since the Champions League anthem has sounded at Ibrox ahead of group stage action but that wait is set to go on a wee while longer, according to reports this evening.
Not only will the iconic theme be absent in Glasgow, but it has been said that it will not be sounded at Anfield tomorrow night, nor at Stamford Bridge or Manchester City on Wednesday.
The inference is that it is due to the official period of mourning in the United Kingdom due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whilst there have been other murmurs that it is due to the music ‘behind’ the CL tune – Handel’s Zadok the Priest – being used as part of the coronation ceremony.
There will be no Champions League anthem played during matches played at home by British teams this week. Interestingly, it’s the same song played during a coronation.
— Ben Rumsby (@ben_rumsby) September 12, 2022
It seems a bit of an overreach that this is deemed necessary, even with all that is going on.
Rangers as a club and a support will not be found wanting in appropriately paying its respects to the late monarch and with the return of football, it has to be allowed to function as normal.
It’s not as if supporters will be expected to sit in silence during the game, so things like dropping the anthem seems like a gesture for the sake of it.
Yes, the tune was heard as the teams lined up for the Playoff round, first leg qualifier against PSV Eindhoven last month but both as a recent addition (full branding, etc for the Playoffs) and the fact that the group stage is when the tournament starts ‘for real’, the first home game of this round is the one truly anticipated.
Part of that appeal is the sounding of the anthem which is then drowned out by the famous Ibrox roar but it seems that a quirk of circumstance means that won’t happen until the visit of Liverpool in October.