Madonna performs Sunday during halftime of Super Bowl XLVI between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots in Indianapolis.

For all the pomp and excess of Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime extravaganza a single extended middle finger by guest singer M.I.A. is likely to be the most remembered piece of the show.

The gesture, accompanied by a barely disguised expletive, came during a performance of Madonna’s new single, “Give Me All Your Luvin.”‘ At the end of her lines, British singer M.I.A. appeared to sing “I don’t give a (expletive),” although it was hard to hear clearly.

The incident was reminiscent of Janet Jackson’s infamous “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 halftime show — a surprise risque moment in front of tens of millions of viewers. The brief exposure of Jackson’s nipple raised a storm of controversy and put CBS in hot water with the Federal Communications Commission.

The Super Bowl, shown on NBC this year, is routinely viewed by more than 100 million people, the biggest TV event of the year. The screen briefly went blurred after M.I.A.’s gesture in what was a late attempt — by less than a second — to cut out the camera shot.

“The obscene gesture in the performance was completely inappropriate, very disappointing, and we apologize to our fans,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

Guests Cee Lo, Nicki Minaj and dance rockers LMFAO also appeared.

Earlier, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert offered some pregame patriotism. Shelton and Lambert did a twangy duet on “America the Beautiful” and Clarkson, in a simple black dress, sang “The Star Spangled Banner” without a hitch after last year’s performer, Christina Aguilera, flubbed a line.