prepared to face Iran in a decisive World Cup match already freighted by the decades of enmity between the countries and the nationwide protests challenging Tehran's theocratic government. The USSF said in a statement Sunday morning it decided to forego the official flag on social media accounts to show "support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.
Iran has not released casualty or arrest figures for months and alleges without providing evidence that the protests have been fomented by its enemies abroad, including the U. Tehran also restricts media access and has detained over 63 reporters and photographers since the demonstrations began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making covering the unrest that much more difficult. Iranian media criticized the flag change Iran's mission to the United Nations and its soccer federation did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Buethe said Parlow Cone was not available to discuss the matter. "This was a decision within the federation, " he said. "I'm not going to get into who knew and who didn't. " 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. " The USSF displayed the official Iranian flag in a graphic showing Group B standings on its website.
Protests have been ongoing for nearly three months now after Mahsa Amini died in police custody. Hundreds of those protesting have since been killed. Players have made their own stances, first choosing to not sing the national anthem against England despite the threat that poses to friends and family back home. Against Wales they mouthed the words instead. Carlos Quieroz's team face each other in a group decider on Tuesday with Iran knowing a draw will likely be enough to get them through to the knockout stages. READ NEXT: Chelsea handed Cristiano Ronaldo warning by Lionel Messi amid huge £186m contract offer Thiago Silva issues brilliant response to Trevoh Chalobah new Chelsea contract announcement Chelsea suffer Jude Bellingham transfer blow as £108m Christopher Nkunku alternative emerges Chelsea news: Todd Boehly 'close' to Chelsea signing as Cristiano Ronaldo next move decided Chelsea news and transfers LIVE: Latest news, rumours and gossip from Stamford BridgeStory SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.
Players wore black jackets in a friendly with Senegal leading up to the Cup, choosing not to display their team uniforms or the flag. When competition officially began numerous Iranian players tweeted that they stood with protesters back home, or in the case of midfielder Saman Ghoddos, speaking to western media: “No one is happy about it and everybody wants to see a change, ” he said. “What the people want is nothing special — it’s just freedom. I don’t want to say go fight for it because I don’t think violence is the right way, but something needs to change, and this has been going on for too long.
Then, over the weekend, U. Soccer took a stand of its own. In a now-deleted tweet, their account posted the standings from Group B, with a doctored Iranian flag which removed the Islamic Republic emblem from from the center of the flag. Initially believed to just have been an error, or a social media shortcut, it was later confirmed to be an intentional protest of Iran. Re: the incident brewing where the USSF scrubbed the image of the Iran flag so that the center symbol was removed, a USSF spox tells me the following.
U. S. soccer federation briefly alters Iran's flag to show solidarity with protestersTwo anti-riot police officers wave the Iranian flags during a street celebration after Iran defeated Wales in Qatar's World Cup, at Sadeghieh Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption toggle caption Two anti-riot police officers wave the Iranian flags during a street celebration after Iran defeated Wales in Qatar's World Cup, at Sadeghieh Sq. 25, 2022.
Amini’s death set off widespread protests across Iran, with thousands of people, predominantly women, removing their hijabs and calling for social change as a result. Protests burned police stations and cars as part of the protests, with spotty reports out of Iran (due to a coordinated cut of internet and social media) indicating that dozens of protesters were being shot and killed. In October, protests went international, with coordinated demonstrations in major western cities showing support for Iranian women calling for freedom. At this point Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei downplayed the protests, essentially suggesting they were deep fakes created by Iran’s “foreign enemies” to destabilize the country.
” Iran players refused to sing the national anthem during their opener against England. It started a stand-off between protesters and pro-government fans who traveled to Qatar for the World Cup, and as a result the players would drop their anthem protest in an effort to reduce the temperature in Qatar. The stakes of USA vs. Iran, and “the tweet” With the USA playing to a draw against both Wales and England, while Iran lost to England and beat Wales, the showdown for Tuesday was set. The winner would make it through to the Round of 16, and the loser would be eliminated. It was a possible, but unlikely possibility now realizing itself — with the political relations between the two nations at the fore.
"Obviously they want to affect Iran's performance against the U. S by doing this. " 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. At the top and the bottom of the flag, there are 22 inscriptions of "God is Great" as well, which honors the date on the Persian calendar when the Islamic Revolution took hold. The flag has become a point of contention at the World Cup.
" Iran's state-media outlet Tasnim News Agency claim this is against tournament rules though, tweeting: "According to section 13 of #FIFA rules, any person who offends the dignity or integrity of a country, a person or group of people... shall be sanctioned with a suspension lasting at least 10 matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure. "By posting a distorted image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of #Iran on its official account, the #US football team breached the @FIFAcom charter, for which a 10-game suspension is the appropriate penalty. Team #USA should be kicked out of the #WorldCup2022. " The Islamic republic have already requested that Qatari authorities ban Iranian fans from carrying their old 'lion and sun' flag - which was in place before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 - or the 'woman, life, freedom' slogan on the more basic three striped flag.
Iran demands FIFA kick USA out of the World Cup after social media postIran's state-affiliated media has called upon football's governing body FIFA to kick USA out of the 2022 World Cup after a controversial social media post from the official account of the United States Men's National Team (USMNT). The post was a picture of the Group B table and included the national badges, but the Iranian Islamic republic symbol was missing from the image, a part of the flag in the middle of the green, white and red stripes.
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Defender Walker Zimmerman said the U. players were unaware of the posts. "We didn't know anything about the posts but we are supporters of women's rights, " he said. "We're focused a lot on Tuesday, on the sporting side, as well.... I think it's such a focused group on the task but at the same time we empathize and we are firm believers in women's rights and support them. " The brief absence of the emblem came as monthslong demonstrations challenged Iran's government following the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country's morality police. 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.
As comments raged online, Iranian state television described the U. federation as "removing the symbol of Allah" from the Iranian flag. Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Safiollah Fagahanpour, an adviser to the Iranian Football Federation, saying that the "measures taken regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran flag are against the law" of FIFA competitions. "They must be held responsible, " Fagahanpour said.
Iran demands FIFA kick USA out of the World Cup after angry
Pahlavi was deposed during the Iran revolution of 1977, and relations between the U. S. and Iran took its darkest turn in 1979 when the U. Embassy in Tehran was seized, leading to a hostage crisis which lasted over a year. As a result Iran has been under some form of economic sanctions for the last 43 years. The 2022 protests Without retracing the last four decades of the diplomatic rollercoaster between the U. and Iran, we can fast-forward to 2022. Relations between the nations have been in sharp decline for much of the year, with the State Department issuing multiple statements of condemnation ranging from petrochemical sales by Hezbollah, to additional sanctions against Iranian individuals who supplied Russia with drones for their invasion of Ukraine. Things really came to a head in September during the Mahsa Amini protests, which are still ongoing. Amini, a 22-year-old woman, died after being detained by Iran’s “Guidance Patrol, ” which serves as the law enforcement arm of Islamic law in the country, for wearing an “improper” hijab, or head scarf.
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