One wouldn’t expect huge blunders to take place at a highly-watched televised event, right? Not really. From the wrong name being called out at Miss Universe 2015 to the wrong movie receiving the winning title at the Oscars, recent history has been filled with such instances. Now, the 2024 Paris Olympics is set to join the same list due to a noticeable mistake prior to the men’s basketball matchup between South Sudan and Puerto Rico.

Before the matchup began, players from both teams stood on the basketball court for the national anthem. When the time came for ‘South Sudan Oyee!’ to be played, the organizers mistakenly played the national anthem of Sudan instead. As ‘Nahnu Jund Allah Jund Al-watan’ continued playing, the South Sudanese fans in attendance at the arena started to highlight the mistake by waving flags and shouting in frustration. Eventually, the anthem stopped in the middle, and the correct tune was later played.

Between the pause, the crowd at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy kept the spirits of the South Sudanese team high by clapping. In the spirit of sportsmanship, even players from the Puerto Rico national team joined in. However, once the game began, they were back to being on-court rivals, with members from each roster putting their competitive drive in the front-row seat.

In a different scenario, this incident would have been easily forgotten and remained as something to share a small laugh about. However, given the prior history between South Sudan and Sudan, this unfortunate blunder did not turn out to be a laughing matter of any kind. Furthermore, with people quickly descending onto social media in the aftermath, this mistake would not be forgotten anytime soon.

Fans react as the wrong national anthem gets played during the South Sudan-Puerto Rico matchup

One social media user kicked off the round of reactions by highlighting his disappointment. He remarked that playing the wrong national anthem is allegedly another shot taken at the South Sudanese basketball team, and that this shouldn’t have happened on a special day like today.

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympics mark the first time that South Sudan has qualified in the men’s basketball category. Therefore, an incident like this happening in their debut game would certainly not play well with people.

One social media user found it quite ‘awkward’ that a South Sudanese basketball game featured an anthem from both Sudan and the respective national country. This may have been a reference to the fact that the alleged division between the two countries would have been brought to the limelight through this incident.

Before 2011, Sudan and South Sudan were one country. However, in light of the civil war incidents happening in the country over the last few decades, a referendum titled the ‘South Sudanese independence referendum’ was created to determine whether a separate nation should be established. After 98.83% of individuals from the referendum voted in favor, the country was separated. Therefore, while playing the wrong national anthem might have been an accident, the incident did not bode well for some.

One commenter was not happy with the Olympic committee. He made his frustration known by stating, “Is it so hard to put the anthem that plays? It is incomprehensible.”

Believe it or not, playing the wrong national anthem was not the first major mistake made since the commencement of the Paris Olympics. Viewers were left in a minor state of shock during the opening ceremony as well. As the team carrying the South Korean delegation was going across the River Seine, announcers from both the French and the American fields introduced the team as the “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea”. This, unfortunately, is another name for NORTH Korea. Yikes! While the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ended up apologizing for the mistake, it seems that they may need to have another apology prepared for the incident with South Sudan.

Overall, the reactions were critical of the national anthem gaffe. Fortunately, after winning their first matchup by a score of 90-79, the South Sudanese roster wouldn’t be looking to dwell on the mistake for long.