Copa America 2016: Wrong national anthem played before Uruguay vs Mexico
Most of the Uruguay players were expressionless when Chile's national anthem began playing instead of their own
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Copa America organisers were left red-faced on Sunday after playing the wrong national anthem for Uruguay before their match against Mexico in Arizona.
The Uruguay players lined up on the pitch for their anthem, "Orientales, la Patria o la Tumba", ahead of their tournament opener but were greeted instead by the national anthem of Chile at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.
Most of the Uruguay players were expressionless at first, before their poker faces gave way to some looks of bemusement.
Watch the video below...
Organisers quickly sent out an apology.
"We sincerely apologize to the Uruguayan Federation, the Uruguay National Team, the people of Uruguay and to the fans for this mistake. We will work with all parties involved to ensure such an error does not occur again," the statement said.
The mistake capped off an ignominious opening weekend to the tournament, which the United States is hosting for the first time, with few goals, some mediocre games and, in some cases, sparse crowds.
Uruguay's day did not get better as they were beaten 3-1 by the Mexicans.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments