2012 Olympics: Flag Flub Prompts North Koreans to Walk off Field
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Stanley Chou/Getty Images(GLASGOW, Scotland) — The opening ceremonies of the London Summer Olympics are still a day away and already there’s a controversy.
As usual, the soccer competition started early as North Korea’s women’s team met the Colombian squad at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, and as is custom, profiles of the players were shown beforehand on the big screen along with their country’s flag.
Only in the case of North Korea, some signals were crossed and the South Korean flag was flashed.
Since the two countries remain bitter foes 60 years after the Korean War ended, the coach pulled his team off the field and refused to return for over an hour.
Meanwhile, the games’ organizers in London issued a statement saying, “Clearly this is a mistake, we will apologize to the team and the national Olympic committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.”
The faux pas evidently inspired North Korea, which wound up beating Colombia, 2-0.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio