Lithuania has formally demanded that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) stop cutting short its national anthem at the ongoing World Cup in Spain.
FIBA have imposed a 75-second limit for the national anthems ahead of matches, spiking about a quarter of Lithuania's hymn.
"Cutting the anthem short shows a lack of respect for our country, and the FIBA is being very inflexible. Sports bureaucrats should come to their senses," foreign minister Linas Linkevicius told AFP on Wednesday.
The move has sparked outrage in Lithuania, a basketball-mad Baltic nation of three million currently ranked world number four by FIBA.
Linkevicius said that according to FIBA, it cuts all national anthems to 75 seconds "due to TV reasons and the comfort of athletes", claims Lithuania has dismissed as being absurd.
The foreign ministry sent a formal letter to FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann, saying that playing only a part of the anthem "upset many Lithuanians and provoked the media to express discontent".
The men's squad, who were on Tuesday beaten 82-75 by Australia in their Group D match, won bronze at the 2010 World Championship and were runners-up at last year's European Championship.
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