Iran complains to Fifa after US Soccer removes Islamic emblem from its flag
‘We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours,’ a USSF spokesperson said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Iran’s football federation has lodged an official complaint with Fifa after the US Soccer Federation removed the Islamic Republic’s emblem from its flag in social media posts.
The US men’s team’s social media accounts displayed a banner with the squad’s Group B matches on Sunday with the Iranian flag only showing its green, white and red colours.
The USSF said in a statement to the Associated Press on Sunday the decision to remove the official flag on was to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights,” where hundreds have died protesting the theocratic regime.
The social media banners were changed a few hours later with the Islamic Republic’s emblem reinstated.
Iran’s state news agency IRNA called the move an “unprofessional act” and said the Iran Football Federation had demanded Fifa “issue a serious warning” to its US counterpart.
Iranian state television accused the US of removing Allah’s name from its flag, according to the Associated Press.
An Iranian Football Federation adviser was quoted in a local news agency as saying the “measures taken regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran flag are against the law” of FIFA competitions.
“They must be held responsible,” Safiollah Fagahanpour was quoted as saying in the ISNA news agency.
“Obviously they want to affect Iran’s performance against the US by doing this.”
On social media, outraged Iranian fans called for the USA to be kicked out of the Qatar World Cup, the first to be held in the Middle East.
The official Twitter account of the US national football (soccer) team (@USMNT) has removed the Islamic Republic's "Allah" emblem and the "takbirs" from Iran's three-colored flag in a picture it has posted of their FIFA World Cup group's standings ahead of Iran-US Tuesday match. pic.twitter.com/cQgBepEiPN
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) November 26, 2022
USSF spokesman Neil Buethe refused to say whether the decision to post the altered flag had been cleared by its President Cindy Parlow Cone.
In a statement, the federation said: “We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours.”
US men’s team defender Walker Zimmerman said the players were unaware of the controversy.
“We didn’t know anything about the posts but we are supporters of women’s rights,” he said in comments to the Associated Press
“I think it’s such a focused group on the task but at the same time we empathise and we are firm believers in women’s rights and support them.”
More than 450 people have died and thousands have been imprisoned during widespread protests in Iran since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini on 16 September.
Officials in Tehran have accused the US of inflaming the protests.
Tuesday’s Group B clash will determine whether either side progresses to the knockout stages of the tournament.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments