South Korean flag displayed on National Stadium’s board introducing North Korean soccer players. Ire of Pyongyang delegation: "We were furious," said the coach and the win "can not compensate" for the error. Committee apologizes: "inadvertent mistake". Ironic comments on social networks.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The organizers of London 2012 have already offered their apologies, but yesterday's gaffe is of Olympic proportions: ahead of first match in women's soccer between North Korea and Colombia, the Seoul flag appeared next to Pyongyang players on the stadium scoreboard (tweeted photo).  The Asian delegation refused to take to the field in protest and the match started an hour late, after the Committee remedied the error and offered profuse apologies.

The official opening of the 30th edition of the Summer Olympics in London 2012 is scheduled for tomorrow, July 27, with the ceremony in the capital. However, the first matches in women's soccer were played yesterday at Hampden Park in Glasgow with the Asian team among the first up. Commentators and analysts point out that the error in the Korean flags is an "embarrassing mistake" and certainly does not represent the start hoped for the Games, although "it has not created irreparable damage."

The match started almost 60 minutes late and only after a great diplomatic effort to convince the North Koreans - after matching the right flag - to take to the field. Since 1953, when the war between the two Koreas ended, a formal peace deal was never signed and still today the relationship between the two countries alternates between veiled calm and episodes of tension which could lead to open conflict.

Sin Ui Gun, coach of the North Korea women's team, said that "our team would not have taken the field" until "they had remedied the error." For the record, the match ended in a 2 nil victory for North Korea against Colombia, but according to the coach "winning the game certainly can not compensate for what happened." "We were furious - he concludes - our players can not be linked to other flags, especially that of South Korea. If it had not been resolved, there would have been no sense in continuing".

So far the causes of the error have not yet been clarified or responsibility established. In an official statement the organizers of London 2012 express their "apologies to the team and the National Olympic Committee" and ensure that "appropriate action will be taken" so that  "this does not happen again." Spokesman Andy Mitchell added that "a genuine mistake was made for which we apologise."

Meanwhile the error committed by the organizers has sparked jokes and crude comments on social networks like Facebook and Twitter. "They couldn't have chosen two better nations for a mistake of this kind," wrote one user, while the second adds a "blame the cuts to education that have axed the study of history and geography."

 

• korea
• UK
• olympics
• gaffe
• seoul
• women's
• soccer
• national
• flag