“There was some noise here… but it has stopped now,” coach Giorgio Marchetti tentatively said during the Euro 2024 draw.
“No more noise,” UEFA’s deputy general secretary exclaimed before returning to his duties as organizer. But seconds later, the screeching groan rang out again as David Silva tried his best to remove the cap of the ball containing the fourth nation taking part in Group A.
Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie Hall, the setting for a frenetic opera by tenor Jonas Kaufmann and bandanna-wearing violinist David Garrett, was repeatedly invaded by pre-recorded pornographic outbursts.
Here’s everything British viewers need to know about the prank they’ve seen so far.
At around 17:45 GMT, a moment of silliness was injected into the formal ceremony to decide the group stage of this summer’s European Championship.
With most of the draws already completed, high-pitched sexual moans could be heard intermittently over the announcement of each participant in the upcoming tournament. It was the same distinct screech that derailed the BBC’s coverage of the FA Cup match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool in January.
The prankster managed to sneak the phone under a chair in the studio before turning the ringtone to maximum volume. Gary Lineker, Paul Ince and Danny Murphy were unable to locate the device during the show, drowning out the deafening noise.
In Hamburg’s much larger arena, the groans were not as loud. But they were still audible enough for host Marchetti to pause midway through the draw.
Whether he was hurriedly holding back the barking in his ear or taking matters into his own hands, Marchetti was the only host to acknowledge the shouting. Mr Lineker at least made light of the incident in January as he turned red-faced and turned left, telling viewers: “I don’t know who’s making that noise, but there’s Alan Shearer on the commentary gantry.” “I’m here,” he said with a wry smile.
Impressively, not one of the former soccer players responsible for opening the ball’s cap was caught reacting to the outburst. Danish icon Brian Laudrup was unable to use his facial expressions the same way he did with the ball and almost broke into a grin.
England manager Gareth Southgate admitted the noise could only be heard from the crowd. “I think it was some kind of prank,” the Three Lions manager surmised. “But it was hard to really understand what it was.” You might think a concert hall would have better acoustics.
YouTuber Daniel Jarvis, the same culprit who claimed the BBC prank earlier this year, has been held responsible for causing a minor disruption to the Euro 2024 draw.
“Listen, that was us, that was us,” an excited Jarvis told viewers from his Hamburg hotel room. “During the Euro 2024 draw, we put our phones out there and the phones rang and made sex noises.”
Jarvis, also known as Jarbo 69, specializes in infiltrating major sporting events. As recently as October, the British content maker sneaked onto the Cricket World Cup pitch only to be reprimanded by Indian star Virat Kohli.
UEFA announced that it is investigating the incident.