Football mad Prince William has been seen in the crowd cheering on Aston Villa in their UEFA Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos tonight at Villa Parlk
Prince William has been seen in the crowd cheering on Aston Villa in their UEFA Conference League semi-final against Olympiacos tonight.
The Prince of Wales was glued to the action as he took in a hard fought game where his side went down 4-2 at home in the first leg, and he was also pictured talking to Villa members of staff.
Unai Emery’s side were targeting a victory this evening to take an advantage with them to the Karaiskakis Stadium next Thursday. The winner of this two-legged tie will then take on either Club Brugge or Fiorentina in the final on Wednesday, May 29.
The second half was delayed due to a medical emergency in one of the stands that also meant hundreds of fans reportedly had to be evacuated from the area. An announcer later said: “We would like to thank all the medical staff for their prompt support.”
Villa come into the clash on the back of a 2-2 draw with Chelsea last time out and are unbeaten in five home matches in all competitions. They have won all six of their Europa Conference League games at home this season.
Last month Prince William was seen with Prince George to watch Villa play Lille in their Europa Conference League quarter-final. The heir to the throne was seen in the stands with his 10-year-old son clapping and cheering as Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in Villa’s 2-1 victory in that game.
That night out marked the first time either William or George had been pictured in public since the Princess of Wales announced she had received a cancer diagnosis. In March, she revealed she is undergoing treatment for cancer in an emotional video message and since then, the Wales family have been spending private time together during the Easter holidays.
After the match, Neil Moxley, the chief sports writer of the Sunday People, the Mirror’s sister publication, managed to ask the Prince of Wales his thoughts about the game. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he said he asked William: “Your Highness – after the Mostar game we saw you and you said 1-0 was a good result in Europe. How was this?” To which he says William replied: “Two-nil would have been better..”
Seeing that 10-year-old George had been pictured in the stands wearing a Villa scarf, Neil said he asked the prince: “Is George now part of the pride?” The pride is how fans of the West Midlands club refer to themselves. And William revealed his son’s affection for the club saying: “Oh yes, he’s loving it.”
