Two players from the Malian national team who participated in the Women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney apologized after the collision, and the International Federation of the Game (FIBA) launched an investigation into the incident.

The incident took place in the mixed media area after the match and was caught on camera during an interview with Serbian Sasha Kadu following her country’s 81–68 victory over Mali.

A short video clip that has since been widely circulated on the Internet shows Selimato Koroma landing no less than three punches on his colleague Camiti Elisabeth Dabo. Other financial players stepped in to put an end to the row.

The two players appeared at a press conference after Mali lost their last match in the tournament against Canada 65-88, where they apologized.

“We are here to apologize for the photo that was on social media, it was not our intention,” said Dabo, who was sitting next to her colleague.

“We were saddened by the loss and we are here to apologize to the World Cup family and express our apologies,” she added.

The International Federation said it was investigating the incident and would “decide on any disciplinary action” upon completion.

Coach Joaquin Brizuela called the fight “an unfortunate accident”, adding: “They are two of our key players and although it was an unfortunate accident, they both hoped to play basketball at a higher level and today they showed it.”

“We learned a lot from this tournament,” he concluded.

Mali failed to win any of their five matches after reaching the World Cup for the second time as a late replacement for Nigeria, who withdrew due to administrative difficulties related to the sport in their country.