Apartheid flag gaffe sparks row
The 2008 Nations Cup poster with the old South African flag
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South Africans have condemned the use of the old apartheid flag on Africa Nations Cup posters in Ghana. "It is an embarrassment to the country but we will take it up with the relevant authorities," said a South African Football Association spokesman.
The Young Communist League (YCL) said it was "flabbergasted" by the error and has demanded an apology.
South Africa's flag was changed in 1994, when Nelson Mandela won elections ending white minority rule.
"This is a clear insult to the South African soccer-loving fans in general and South Africans in particular," said the youth league of the South African Communist Party, which is part of the governing alliance.
"It is regrettable that 14 years into our nascent democratic change in our country, the continental sporting bodies, particularly Caf still, regards our country as a bastion of apartheid and oppression," the South African Press Association quotes the YCL as saying.
One of the offending posters appeared in Kumasi, where the South African team was based before they got knocked out of the championship in the first round.
It shows South African striker Benni McCarthy, who was not picked to play for Bafana Bafana during the tournament, above the old South African flag.
Egypt and Cameroon have made it to the final, which takes place on Sunday.
The 2008 Nations Cup poster with the old South African flag
Enlarge Image
South Africans have condemned the use of the old apartheid flag on Africa Nations Cup posters in Ghana. "It is an embarrassment to the country but we will take it up with the relevant authorities," said a South African Football Association spokesman.
The Young Communist League (YCL) said it was "flabbergasted" by the error and has demanded an apology.
South Africa's flag was changed in 1994, when Nelson Mandela won elections ending white minority rule.
"This is a clear insult to the South African soccer-loving fans in general and South Africans in particular," said the youth league of the South African Communist Party, which is part of the governing alliance.
"It is regrettable that 14 years into our nascent democratic change in our country, the continental sporting bodies, particularly Caf still, regards our country as a bastion of apartheid and oppression," the South African Press Association quotes the YCL as saying.
One of the offending posters appeared in Kumasi, where the South African team was based before they got knocked out of the championship in the first round.
It shows South African striker Benni McCarthy, who was not picked to play for Bafana Bafana during the tournament, above the old South African flag.
Egypt and Cameroon have made it to the final, which takes place on Sunday.