Postby stev » July 27th, 2012, 1:36 pm
OP...wat d eff? post d ting nah...
A big uproar has shaken the London Games even before its official start. The organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korea’s flag on a screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match, prompting the team to walk off the pitch.
The blatant incident occurred during player introductions before North Korea’s game against Colombia. A North Korean player was displayed along with a shot of the South Korean flag when the teams were already on the pitch during the pre-match ceremony.
The match was delayed for more than an hour, as the North Korean side had gone into their dressing room. Only after organizers apologized for the error did the action resume.
The mix-up apparently boosted the Asian team as they beat their South American opponents 2-0.
“We were angry because our players were introduced as if they were from South Korea, which may affect us very greatly as you might know,” coach Sin Ui-gun said through an interpreter afterwards.
“If this matter couldn't have been resolved, then I thought going on would be nonsense,” he also noted.
The Games organizing committee took all the blame.
“Clearly that is a mistake,” organizers said. “We will apologize to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.”
The North Korean players refused to speak to reporters after the game. Two of them passed through the press zone carrying flags, the correct North Korean ones.
North Korea and South Korea are old and bitter rivals. The tension between the nations has never ceased since the Korean War in the early 1950s.
