Police are investigating why a song linked to violent protests in 2019 was played in place of the national anthem at the Asian Classic Powerlifting Championships in Dubai on Friday.

That’s according to acting sports commissioner, Paul Cheng, who said on Sunday that the commission has also ordered the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China (SF&OC) to conduct a thorough probe into why the wrong song was played after Hong Kong weight lifter Susanna Lin won a gold medal.

Meanwhile, Cheng said it looked like new guidelines issued by the SF&OC on how athletes should react if there were problems with the national anthem and the regional flag had been useful.

Lin and the team leader made a “T” sign about 15 seconds into the song, before organisers realised the mistake and played correct version of the anthem.

“They have acted appropriately to protect the dignity of the country,” Cheng said.

Pui Kwan-kay, honorary vice-chairman of the SF&OC said the mix-up was regrettable, noting the Hong Kong team had handed the correct version of the anthem and regional flag to the organiser in advance.

He said there’s a need to strengthen communication with event organisers to ensure they will not download what they found on the internet.

The Asian Powerlifting Federation had apologised on Saturday over the blunder.

It said the technical team did not know the Chinese national anthem and there was a mix-up of audio files in their computer system.