Prince William joined Aston Villa’s postgame celebrations at Villa Park after the club secured a place in the Europa League final, the report says. Photographs showed the Prince of Wales pumping his fists in the stands before he was pictured celebrating alongside players in the dressing room.
The report says Villa recorded a 4-0 victory against Nottingham Forest that completed a 4-1 aggregate win, setting up a final meeting with Freiburg scheduled for May 20. William was shown cheering from the stands as the result was confirmed.
Manager Unai Emery confirmed the prince had taken part in the post-match celebrations, the report says. Emery said William was in the dressing room with the players and the coaching staff and described him as clearly pleased by the outcome.
Per the report, William had company in the Villa Park stands from club ambassador Ahmed Elmohamady. The tie swung after events across both legs: Chris Wood’s penalty in the first leg had given Nottingham Forest an initial advantage, Ollie Watkins levelled the aggregate in the 36th minute of the second match, Emi Buendia converted a penalty shortly after the interval, and John McGinn added a brace to ensure the aggregate scoreline ended 4-1 and send Villa on to Istanbul.
William, who is patron of the Football Association and has supported Aston Villa since childhood, was born less than a month after the club’s 1982 European Cup triumph, the report says. It is not yet known whether the prince will travel to Istanbul for the final later this month, per the report.
