Olympic officials reportedly had to intervene to "prevent an international and physical incident" between the Lebanese and Israeli teams ahead of the opening ceremony on Friday night.
The Lebanese team were sitting on a bus ready to travel to the Maracana Stadium when the Israeli team arrived and boarded the same bus, prompting the Lebanese team to refuse to travel on the same vehicle.
Israeli sailor Udi Gal wrote of the incident on Facebook: "We insisted on boarding the bus, saying that if the Lebanese refused to stay with us, they could take another bus."
Lebanese official Haj Nicolas claimed that he had the right to prevent other teams from boarding a bus reserved for athletes from his country, explaining: "I asked the bus driver to close the door but the guide with the Israeli team prevented him from doing so. I stood at the door of the bus to prevent the Israel team from entering and some of them tried to go in and pick a fight."
Organisers subsequently drafted in an extra vehicle and both teams travelled to the Maracana separately.
Neil Wilkes
