The Hong Kong Sports Federation and Olympic Committee (SF&OC) announced on Sunday that it will release guidelines on the national flag and anthem for Hong Kong sports teams to provide the national flag and anthem with official standards when participating in international competitions.
This act came after several blunders involved the national anthem playing during the rugby tournaments.
According to Ronnie Wong Man-chiu, the Honorary Secretary General of SF&OC, a representative should be appointed for the Hong Kong sports teams to follow up the national flag and anthem for each match.
“When mistakes on the national flag and anthems occur during a competition, the representatives must use gestures to ask for an immediate suspension and correction,” Wong said.
“The position must be served by the most senior members of the team,” Wong noted, “such as team leaders, coaches, and captains.”
SF&OC will be responsible for keeping review on whether the guidelines were conducted accordingly, he added.
“If the Hong Kong team did not follow the guidelines, they could be suspended from the tournament, ” said Pui Kwan Kay, chairman of the Hong Kong Football Association.
“We will also consider boycotting the tournament if the organisers are responsible and conduct the offences repeatedly or deliberately,” he added.
Hong Kong team athletes should stop the “misconduct” of the match on the spot, Pui noted, claiming it is reasonable for athletes to quit the game.
Read More: HK Olympic Committee to issue guidelines on national flag and anthem over rugby incident
