'Stop Junior Staff From Playing National Anthems'

Sports official Ronnie Wong on Wednesday said junior staff should not be given solemn tasks like playing the national anthem, and that he does not accept an explanation from Asia Rugby that an intern had made an honest mistake playing the wrong song in South Korea over the weekend.

A song associated with the violent protests in 2019 was played as the Hong Kong sevens team prepared to play hosts South Korea in Sunday's final of the second leg of the Asian Rugby Sevens Series in Incheon.

On Tuesday, Asia Rugby said an intern who "has no understanding of the politics of the world" played the wrong audio file with no malicious intent or ulterior motives.

Speaking on a radio programme, the honorary secretary general of the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong said both Asia Rugby and the Korea Rugby Union should be held accountable for the blunder.

"Flag-raising and singing the national anthem are very serious matters, how can it be possible to search [and download] it casually on the Internet?" Wong questioned.

"Looking at how [South Korea] handled the national anthem and the national flag, should it still take on these large-scale tournaments?"

Some lawmakers had earlier criticised the Hong Kong squad for their lack of response when they heard the wrong song being played.

But Wong said he believes the athletes are innocent, as most of them are foreign players who might not understand what the song means.

"It's difficult to say whether they knew what to do in that moment...but in future, we must let team managers or coaches know how they should respond," Wong said, adding that officials will issue guidelines on handling similar incidents.

He urged SAR officials to discuss with various sports governing bodies on temporarily suspending South Korea from hosting sporting events, or boycotting those tournaments altogether.