The U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran's national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying the move supported protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations' World Cup match Tuesday.
“We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours,” the federation said.
Asked whether there had been discussions with diplomatic entities, Buethe said: “There have been at certain times. I'm not going to talk about those, but, again, this is our decision not anyone else's or pressure from anyone else.”Defender Walker Zimmerman said the U.S. players were unaware of the posts.
The protests have seen at least 450 people killed since they started, as well as over 18,000 arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an advocacy group following the demonstrations. Iran's mission to the United Nations and its soccer federation did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. As comments raged online, Iranian state television described the U.S. federation as “removing the symbol of Allah” from the Iranian flag.
The Islamic Republic emblem, designed in 1980, is four curves with a sword between them. It represents the Islamic saying: “There is no god but God.” It also resembles a tulip or lotus.
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