INTERNATIONAL INCIDENTS INVOLVING THE WRONG FLAG / History repeats itself in Britain

It came close to an international incident at the 2012 Olympic Games at Edinburgh when the North Korean women's football team was introduced but the South Korean flag was inadvertently displayed beside images of the players. This led to a walkout by the North Korean team in protest until the right flag was found. International sensitivities came to a head because the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North) is still technically at war with its neighbours the Republic of Korea (South). Incidentally, the North Koreans, spurred on by righteous indignation,  beat Colombia 2-0.    

A similar incident took place at the 2006 Leeds International Piano Competition but in reverse. Some person (presumably not Dame Fanny Waterman) had the swell idea of displaying the national flags of all the pianists below their names in the programme book. This resulted in all eight South Korean pianists having a North Korean flag accompany them throughout the entire competition (see above). Spurred on by righteous indignation and musical inspiration, three South Koreans made the semi-finals, with Sunwook Kim and Sunghoon Kim winning the 1st and 5th prizes respectively. An audience member later remarked to me, "I did not know they had such a great musical conservatory in Pyongyang!"

This was not the first incident involving the Leeds International Piano Competition. In 1984, the Chinese jury member Ding Shande (composer of the Great March Symphony) threatened to quit the competition when the Taiwanese flag (Republic of China, above left) was displayed instead of the Chinese one (People's Republic of China,  above right). 

So its back to Geography, Geo-Politics, History and International Relations 101 classes for the Brits! 

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 / Day 15 (25 June 2010)

IVORY COAST 3 - NORTH KOREA 0

BRAZIL 0 - PORTUGAL 0

GROUP G:
Fairly predictable, really. Ivory Coast needed 8 or 9 goals against the North Koreans to progress and hope that Brazil beat Portugal. They only managed 3 goals, against a team that is so out of depth in the tournament. Other than that gallant loss to Brazil, North Korea might as well have been Singapore. (Remember Goal 2010? That preposterous claim that some day-dreamy minister of sports made that Singapore would make the finals?) Both Brazil and its former colonial masters played safe for a zero score bore. Ho-hum. Rating: 2/5

SPAIN 2 - CHILE 1

HONDURAS 0 - SWITZERLAND 0

GROUP H:
For all the Swiss heroics against Spain a week ago, it could not make Honduras roll over. So they pay the price while Spain cruise against Chile. Nothing very much to say except David Villa looks like a good bet for the Golden Boot. This sets for a mucho caliente all-Iberian meeting in the Second Round. Rating: 2.5/5

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: Day 11 (21 June 2010)

PORTUGAL 7 - NORTH KOREA 0

A repeat of the 5-3 scoreline from 1966 was never on the cards, with Portugal romping to their biggest ever victory in the Finals. Six different scorers and the Koreans had no reply. Missed the match as I had been watching Toy Story 3 with my son instead. Some moments should never be sacrificed, even if its for the World Cup.

CHILE 1 - SWITZERLAND 0

Back in time to watch Chile dismantle a 10-man Swiss side that had yet to concede a Finals goal since 2006. The scoreline would have been much bigger if not for poor finishing, and Switzerland could have even grabbed an equaliser. Chile command Group H, and a showdown with the Spanish beckons. A draw will ensure that Chile avoid the Brazilians in the 2nd round. Rating: 3/5

SPAIN 2 - HONDURAS 0

This should have matched the Portuguese feat, if not for a lack of clinical finishing. David Villa had a brace, and the luxury of missing a penalty. Fernando Torres is still rusty, and Cesc Fabregas denied a goal upon 10 seconds of coming on as a sub. Spain must beat Chile in the final group match to avoid Brazil. Eminently do-able. Rating: 4/5

FIFA World Cup 2010: Day 5 (15 June 2010)

NEW ZEALAND 1 -SLOVAKIA 1

Ah, the romance of the World Cup! I was wondering why I even bothered with tuning in on this match until Winston Reid's last-minute-of-injury-time equaliser against the Slovaks. The Kiwi's first point ever in the World Cup Finals! Nothing beats the feeling of pride of scoring. Rating: 2/5 (for match), 5/5 for New Zealand's goal.

PORTUGAL 0 - IVORY COAST 0

The supposed Cristiano Ronaldo-Didier Drogba showdown petered into a drab no-score bore. Possibly one of the dreariest matches of a dreary World Cup so far. Safety first through-out. What happened to these so-called attack-minded teams? Rating: 1/5

BRAZIL 2 - NORTH KOREA 1

The giants vs minnows contest turned out to be more absorbing than imagined. For almost an hour, the Kims kept El Selecion at bay, until Maicon's terrific Kanuesque goal from an impossible angle. Only the Brazilians! North Korea are no pushovers and its late, late Ji Nam Yun goal was thoroughly deserved. Portugal and Ivory Coast, watch out! Image of the match: Jong Tae Se's pre-match waterworks. Rating: 4.5/5