US Soccer shows support for Iranian women, displays Iran flag without Islamic Republic emblem in some posts
removed the emblem of the Islamic Republic from the Iranian flag on some of its social media posts as a way of showing support for protests in Iran.
A graphic of the World Cup Group B standings posted on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook on Saturday showed a plain green, white and red flag. The banner on the U.S. men’s national team’s Twitter page, which lists the team’s group-stage games at the tournament, also featured the Iranian flag without the Islamic Republic emblem.
The changes ahead of Tuesday’s game against Iran were intentional, with a U.S. Soccer spokesperson saying it was the federation’s way of showing “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”
The official Iranian flag could still be seen elsewhere on U.S. Soccer’s social media accounts, including on its main web page. Future posts are expected to use Iran’s official flag.
Iran’s government reacted by accusing America of removing the name of God from their national flag.
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Protests have rocked Iran since the Sept. 16 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the morality police for allegedly violating the country’s conservative dress code. Though the protests began with girls and young women demanding an end to the dress code — the mandatory hijab specifically — they have since grown to include men and people of all ages calling for an end to the country’s theocratic government.
Iranian players refused to sing the national anthem before their first game, and fans have worn shirts and displayed banners reading “Women, Life, Freedom,” the rallying cry of protesters.
“They should know that we are with them,” Ehsan Hajsafi, Iran’s captain, said about the protesters before the team’s opening game.
Now U.S. Soccer is, too.
Associated Press contributed to this story.