Olympic organizers in France apologized after playing the wrong national anthem for South Sudan before their men’s basketball game against Puerto Rico. The error, which saw the Sudanese anthem played instead, prompted boos from the crowd at Pierre Mauroy stadium on Sunday.
The correct anthem was played after a brief pause, receiving applause. The organizers attributed the mistake to “human error” and issued a statement of apology to the South Sudanese team and supporters. South Sudan player Majok Deng criticized the error as “disrespectful” but acknowledged the correction.
This marks the second anthem error for Paris 2024, following a mix-up with South Korea’s introduction.
Despite the mishap, South Sudan defeated Puerto Rico 90-79. The nation, which gained independence in 2011, qualified for the Olympics for the first-time last year.
