Organisers of the London Olympics have apologised to the North Korean team following a mistake before the start of the women's football match against Colombia.

The North Koreans refused to take to the pitch at Hampden Park after a South Korean flag was shown on the big screens inside the stadium in error.

"Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen instead of Flag NK," read a statement from LOCOG. "Clearly that is a mistake. We will apologise to the team and the national Olympic committee and steps will be taken to ensure no repeat."

The match eventually got underway an hour later than scheduled after the dispute had been settled.