Controversy has arisen ahead of the United States vs. Iran World Cup match on Tuesday.
It began over the weekend when the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) displayed altered images of the Iranian flag on its social media accounts, scrubbing the Islamic Republic emblem to leave only the horizontal stripes of green, white and red.
The Iranian regime accused the U.S. of defacing the flag, calling on FIFA to levy a 10-game suspension of the USMNT — essentially disqualifying it from the World Cup. FIFA has not yet responded to the controversy.
The USSF's decision to alter the Iranian flag has its basis in ongoing nationwide protests and demonstrations against the country's theocracy. Those in turn began with the suspicious September death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in custody of Iran's morality police after being arrested for improperly wearing a hijab.
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Here's what you need to know about the ongoing controversy:
What did US Soccer tweet about Iran's flag?
US Soccer's Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts posted graphics of the squad's matches in the group stage. Included in the group were unaltered flags for the United States, England and Wales; only Iran's flag was altered to remove the Islamic Republic emblem.
The move prompted Tansim, Iran's state-affiliated media, to accuse the United States of racism, an infraction for which it said the U.S. team should be kicked out of the World Cup. Per the outlet's English-based account:
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.
Tansim also cited a FIFA statute in requesting action from the organization:
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 ten matches or a specific period, or any other appropriate disciplinary measure.
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Why did US Soccer change Iran's flag?
US Soccer altered Iran's flag as a show of support to protesters in ongoing anti-government demonstrations in Iran. The USSF told The Athletic on Sunday that the decision was to “show support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”
"We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours," the federation said.
Even after deleting posts of the altered flag, the USSF continued to show support for those protesters:
“Clearly the decision we made was to show support for the women in Iran," a USSF spokesperson told The Athletic. "That stands. This is our decision, not anyone else’s or pressure from anyone else.”
How the USMNT responded
The USMNT deleted posts containing the altered Iranian flag by Sunday afternoon, and the team's header on Twitter displays an unaltered version of the Iranian flag. The same is true for the USMNT's official website.
Even after deleting the posts, the USSF held to its stance of supporting the movement. U.S. defenders Tim Ream and Walker Zimmerman said on Sunday that players and coach Gregg Berhalter supported the women's rights movement in Iran — even if they were unaware of the USSF's decision before it happened.
"I think it's such a focused group on the task at hand, but at the same time we empathize, and we are firm believers in women's rights and support them," Zimmerman said, per ESPN.
What does Iran's flag symbol mean?
The Islamic Republic emblem was designed in 1980 and depicts four curved swords. Though it is red on the Iranian flag, it can have multiple different colors depending where it is being displayed.
It represents the Shahada, an Islamic oath and creed that means, "There is no god but God." It is considered one of the Five Pillars of Islam, fundamental and obligatory practices of the religion.
The Iranian flag also has 22 inscriptions of "God is Great" in Arabic in the green and red portions of the flag. The religious and historical significance of the number has to do with the date on the Persian calendar in 1979 in which the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran.
What is the Iran protest about?
The Iran protest began following the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by Iran's Guidance Patrol, who act as state-authorized religious morality police.
The Guidance Patrol arrested Amini for improperly wearing her hijab. She died in a hospital in Tehran, with the Law Enforcement Command of Islamic Republic of Iran claiming she had a heart attack, collapsed and fell into a coma at a police station before her transfer to the hospital.
However, eyewitnesses reported she was beaten, and that she was alleged to have died from cerebral hemorrhage or stroke as a result of police brutality. The circumstances of her death resulted in nationwide anti-government protests.
The Human Rights Activists in Iran — an advocacy group following the demonstrations — reports the protests have seen at least 450 people killed and another 18,000 arrested by the Iranian government.