Hong Kong police said on Tuesday they were investigating the playing of a song which was the unofficial anthem of the city's anti-government protests at the men's final of the Sevens Series rugby tournament in South Korea this weekend.
"Glory to Hong Kong" was written in 2019, just as Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests erupted, and was considered by many demonstrators in the former British colony to be their national anthem.
The song was banned in 2020 after China imposed sweeping national security laws on Hong Kong that punish what Beijing defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
In a statement, Hong Kong police said China's national anthem should have been played at Sunday's final, which pitted Hong Kong against South Korea in the Asia Rugby-organised tournament in Incheon.
"Police will take follow-up actions seriously in accordance with the law on whether the incident has breached the National Anthem Ordinance or any other legislation, including the Hong Kong National Security Law," the police said. They declined to elaborate when asked by Reuters to give details about the probe.
Hong Kong-domiciled Asia Rugby said it deeply regretted the incident, which was caused by a "simple human error from a junior member of the local organising committee playing a song downloaded from the internet instead of the correct anthem".
After the match, a public apology was announced in Korean and English in the stadium and the correct anthem "The March of the Volunteers" was played. Asia Rugby also replaced the anthem on its social media platforms, it said.
The Hong Kong Sevens side won 19-12.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said it was up to the organisers to ensure that the correct song was played. "I believe the police will adopt appropriate action," he told reporters.
(Reporting by Farah Master, Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Miral Fahmy)
