Europa League anthem played at Champions League quarter-final

Aston Villa played in the Champions League this season for the first time since 1983

A system malfunction led to the wrong anthem being played before Aston Villa's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Paris St-Germain.

The Europa League anthem was played over the PA system as the players lined up at Villa Park on Tuesday, before it was switched for the Champions League anthem.

Club and Uefa sources say the automated system responsible for playing the anthem crashed and was overriden by another system.

Several players looked quizzically at each other as the anthem was played.

Villa defender Ezri Konsa did a facepalm gesture as he and midfielder Youri Tielemans tried to contain their laughter, while PSG's Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele exchanged puzzled glances.

There is nothing in Uefa regulations regarding incorrect anthems being played, so Villa are unlikely to face any sanctions.

European football's governing body provides clubs with the relevant anthems but it is the responsibility of clubs to play them.

Its regulations say walk-on music is played as the players emerge from the tunnel, followed by the Champions League anthem once they have lined up.

Unai Emery's side recovered from 2-0 down to win the second leg 3-2, but PSG progressed 5-4 on aggregate.

What is the Champions League anthem?

The Champions League anthem was written by British composer Tony Britten in 1992 to mark the European Cup's rebrand to the Champions League.

It takes inspiration from Handel's 'Zadok The Priest' - a song written for King George II's coronation in 1726 - and has lyrics in Uefa's three official languages - English, German and French.

The current Europa League anthem was created by music brand agency MassiveMusic and introduced at the start of the 2018-19 season.

It is the third anthem to be used since the competition rebranded from the Uefa Cup in 2009.

It is also played at Conference League matches since its introduction in 2021.