Flag flap marks Day 1 of Olympics

The Opening Ceremonies have not yet started, and London 2012 is off to an embarrassing start.

Olympic competition has already begun, with women's football being one of the events that will commence before the actual parade of athletes and all that pomp. One should be pleased with the come-from-behind victory by the United States over France, 4-2, but the next match will probably take all the headlines away.

In Hampden Park in Glasgow, the North Korean women's football team refused to start their match against Colombia in protest for the South Korean flag being displayed alongside the North Korea players on the screen. Their match was delayed for slightly over an hour, as the organizers were able to persuade the team to eventually play.

Subsequently, the London Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) released the following statement:

Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden Park, the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag. Clearly that is a mistake," organizers said. "We will apologize to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again.

It is important to remind everyone that North and South Korea remain technically at war, thus this would be a really really sensitive matter that you do not overlook. I mean, how difficult would it be to know the difference between the two flags here.



Considering that Pyongyang has nuclear weapons and that South Korea's Pyeongchang is hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics, it is a reminder of reality setting in a little bit.