Lithuania on Wednesday formally demanded that the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) stop cutting short its national anthem at the ongoing World Cup in Spain.

FIBA has 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," Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told AFP on Wednesday.

The move has sparked outrage in Lithuania, a basketball-mad Baltic nation of 3 million currently ranked world No.4 by FIBA.

The team's spokesman told AFP that "the fight with FIBA over the anthem has been going on for several years."

The World Cup runs until September 14.