George Zoffinger, chief executive of the sports authority, said not playing the US anthem before an event at the complex is a violation of the authority's policy.
However, playing only the anthems of the two teams competing in a soccer match is standard for such international games, including the World Cup.
"Part of it [anthems] is for the introduction of those players in the match," said FIFA spokesman John Schumacher. "The match protocol is only the two teams."
Jim Moorhouse of Chicago-based US Soccer, concurred.
"The normal international protocol would be [to play the anthems of] the two nations that are playing," Moorhouse said. "There are lots of international games played on neutral sites all over the world."
FUSSY EATERS
Players with Italian soccer champion Juventus are happy to sample Chinese dishes like roasted duck and Yeung Chow fried rice during their visit to Hong Kong for a friendly match this weekend. But they've asked to keep bananas and mashed potatoes off their menu.
They also don't want to be served figs or kakis, also called Japanese persimmons, according to the team's menu released by the match organizers. And they really don't like croissants and brioches. In capital bold letters, Juventus asked not to be served those kinds of carbs.
The team didn't explain its menu choices, said Kitty Ng, spokeswoman for the promoter, KCE Sports and Entertainment.
"We don't know why they are not serving bananas," she said. "We were wondering about that when we got the request."
The menu had other specific requests, like oven-cooked potatoes, not the mashed kind.
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