Euro 2024 draw ceremony interrupted by apparent sexual noises،
Unexplained groans disrupted the European Championship draw ceremony on Saturday and competed for attention with the reading of team names on stage.
The interruption, which sounded like sexual noises, was clearly heard for several minutes during the ceremony broadcast from a Hamburg concert hall.
– Euro 2024: bracket and match schedule
A British prankster claimed responsibility for the stunt on social media and posted footage of himself making calls on his mobile phone to activate a ringtone in a room with excellent acoustics.
A later clip posted on social media site X, formerly Twitter, appeared to show the prankster inside the venue during a rehearsal for the hour-long Saturday night event.
On Saturday, the noise began after Switzerland’s name was announced and a subsequent ball to award the team’s place in the fixture list was drawn by former Spain and Manchester City player David Silva .
The next image broadcast was of the president of the Swiss football federation, Dominique Blanc, showing him perplexed and looking up at the stage.
UEFA competitions director Giorgio Marchetti noted the noise in his commentary before continuing with the draw for the final six places for the lowest-ranked teams in the tournament’s list of 24 nations. The sound continued sporadically until the draw was completed.
ESPN has contacted UEFA for comment.
Similar noises disrupted a live BBC broadcast of an English soccer match in January between Wolves and Liverpool, which turned out to be a prank using a cellphone next to the studio.
The BBC later apologized for any offense to viewers.
The internet prankster was previously banned from all sporting events in England and Wales for two years after an incident during a cricket match in 2021. He ran onto the field during a cricket test match between England and India and burst into an English batter.
Euro 2024 will take place between 10 German cities from June 14 to July 14, with the final taking place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
