LONDON, June 6: South Africa have received an official apology from British hockey bosses on Wednesday after the apartheid anthem ‘Die Stem’ was mistakenly played before their match in the pre-Olympic London Cup on Tuesday.

Marissa Langeni, chief executive of the South African Hockey Association, in a letter to tournament organisers, said the country “watched with disbelief as our team stood through what clearly was a most embarrassing and uncomfortable experience”.

South Africa’s women went on to beat their British counterparts 3-1 in their opening game and GB Hockey apologised on Wednesday for their embarrassing error.

“Great Britain Hockey, the organiser of the Investec London Cup, offers a full and unreserved apology to the South African women’s hockey team and their supporters for mistakenly playing the wrong national anthem before South Africa’s match with Great Britain on Tuesday,” chief executive Sally Munday said.—AFP