LONDON (AP) — Britain’s field hockey officials have apologized to the South African women’s team for playing the apartheid-era national anthem before a match at the London Cup.
The event’s organizer, Great Britain Hockey, says it was an administrative mistake. It offered a “full and unreserved apology” to the South African team and their supporters for “mistakenly playing the wrong national anthem” before their match against Britain on Tuesday.
South Africa won 3-1, but “watched with disbelief as our team stood through what clearly was a most embarrassing and uncomfortable experience,” said Marissa Langeni, chief executive of the country’s hockey association. She said it “robbed our team of what should have been a moment of pride.”
The organizers planned to play the correct anthem before South Africa’s match against Germany Wednesday.
