Paralympic committee condemned after asking athletes to stand during opening ceremony

Flag bearer Holly Robinson of New Zealand leads the team entering the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

The Rio 2016 Paralympic committee has been slammed for asking everyone to stand for the anthem during the opening ceremony.

The official Olympic and Paralympic Committee for Rio 2016 tweeted on their Spanish language account: 'Suena el himno paralimpico, todos de pie', which translates to 'Sounding of the Paralympic Anthem, all stand'.

Even though the tweet was swiftly removed, some eagle-eyed social media users pounced and called the blunder 'offensive' and 'inappropriate' given so many Paralympians are wheelchair-bound.

Lina RM tweeted: 'Offensive that the account @rio2016_es uses the expression 'all standing' at the time of the opening ceremony anthem.'

Roman AP said the tweet had 'killed the Paralympic Games', but user Anton was slightly more sympathetic, saying 'There are worse people than the committee out there'.

Several followers who quickly logged in to see the tweet from the official account noticed that it had already been taken down just minutes after it was published.

The Olympic Committee has not yet commented on the gaffe, although social media is now rife with outraged twitter users on Wednesday night.

Some saw the funny side of the gaffe, including Deivid Jhovany, who tweeted: 'Like when God told Lazarus, "Get up and walk".'

But the vast majority criticised the tweet, with many calling it 'a scandal'.

The Paralympic Games involves athletes with a range of disabilities, including impaired muscle power, impaired movement, limb deficiency, short stature, vision impairment and intellectual impairment.

There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games and they are held almost immediately after the Olympic Games every four years.

This year's events are taking place in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro.