"…, after only four French universities was ..."

[Odessa Dawn]

"…, after only four French universities was ranked among the world’s top 100 in an annual report."

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I don’t know why the plural here has been followed by a singular verb. My question: Is ... four French universities was ... grammatically correct, please?

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[SoothingDave]

What was the rest of the sentence, that part you omitted before you quoted it to us?

 

[Odessa Dawn]

What was the rest of the sentence, that part you omitted before you quoted it to us?

Thank you, Dave, and see please:

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The recent surveys came as the French Education Minister Vincent Peillon was recently forced to defend the quality of the country’s higher education system, after only four French universities was ranked among the world’s top 100 in an annual report.
PressTV - Most French unsatisfied with education they received

 

[SoothingDave]

It should be "were."

 

[Tdol]

Not a good text to make such a mistake in ;-)