Sportsmanship 101: US men's soccer team disrespects, alters Iran flag

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 Nov 2022 12:42
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A very loud act of disrespect to the country, the US national soccer team posted Iran's flag without the Islamic emblem.

In early October, demonstrators in Los Angeles held Iran's flag during an anti-government protest. Two flags are apparent here: One altered without the Islamic emblem, and the other Pahlavi's monarchy-era flag. (Getty Images)

The US men's soccer team is breaching Iranian sovereignty and respect by altering their flag on their website, putting it on a social media display without the main emblem that sits in the middle between the green and red stripes - the emblem is representative of the Islamic nature of the state, translating to English “There is no god but God.”

On their Twitter account, the US men's soccer team displayed a banner with the group's matches: Group B in the FIFA World Cup 2022 consists of Iran, United States, United Kingdom, and Wales.

A screengrab of the U.S. Men's National Soccer Team page, with a banner presenting the insolently altered version of the Iranian flag.

This change in the flag and its adoption by the US is reminiscent of 2011 Syria, and Western support for the riots and killings that took place back then.

The same banner was posted on both Facebook and Instagram, and the US team did not respond to a comment request by AP.

Much of the violence and the killing on the ground are made to undermine Tehran's legitimate authority in the country, in addition to putting thousands of people in danger.

Riots are Western-backed and instigated

Recently, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi stressed that the US and the West's support for rioters and terrorists will not be in their interests.

On October 2, Iran's Shura Council confirmed that over 45,000 foreign intelligence servicepersons were behind the riots, mostly from western countries, adding that it possessed evidence to back its claims.

On October 19, the Iranian Fars news agency said the German Embassy played a role "in igniting the riots in the country, and embassy officials held meetings with officials of a number of other European embassies to expand the conflict and tension in Iran."