An Olympic basketball game got off to a rocky start on Sunday, eliciting an immediate reaction from fans.
In line with tradition at the Paris 2024 Olympics, national anthems of participating countries rang out before a weekend matchup between Puerto Rico and South Sudan at Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
However, the wrong anthem was played for South Sudan, causing a noticeable stir among the attendees.
Players looked around in confusion and disbelief as the Sudanese national anthem echoed through the arena, rather than the tune belonging to the world’s youngest nation.
🇫🇷🇸🇸 EMBARRASSMENT: Instead of South Sudan’s anthem, the Sudanese anthem was played at the Olympic Games in Paris, prompting an immediate reaction from the audience.
This incident follows the recent mix-up at the opening ceremony of the Games, where South Korean athletes were… pic.twitter.com/q8wd3z82uX
— TabZ (@TabZLIVE) July 28, 2024
Unsurprisingly, there were boos from the crowd as the mistake struck a nerve, particularly because of the sensitive historical context between the two Northeastern African countries.
But after a brief pause, the correct anthem was played, prompting an ovation from fans and players.
It is a shame how #ParisOlympics2024 organisers can’t distinguish between #Sudan and #SouthSudan. Playing wrong national anthem? pic.twitter.com/d68YlzDSPz
— Christian Tani L (@clogoye) July 28, 2024
Still, many remained upset at the thoughtless error.
“They [the organizers] have to be better because this is the biggest stage, and you know that South Sudan is playing,” South Sudanese player Majok Deng stated after the game, as per BBC. “There’s no way you can get that wrong by playing a different anthem. It’s disrespectful.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) later addressed the incident, which followed its apology for a similar mistake the previous day. During the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Games, the broadcast incorrectly identified the team from the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Korea (KSOC).
The IOC has attributed both mistakes to “human error.”
Ultimately, despite the awkward moment, South Sudan got the last laugh on the court, winning the game by a score of 90 to 79.
HISTORY MADE!! 🇸🇸 pic.twitter.com/8qIYJeVE6h
— South Sudan Basketball (@SSBFed) July 28, 2024
Riding high on the first trip to the Olympics, South Sudan’s basketball team will face their biggest challenge yet on Wednesday when they take on a star-studded Team USA roster.