Iran lodges protest with FIFA over US Soccer flag post

Iranian soccer federation slams ‘unprofessional act’ as US soccer physique makes use of modified flag in social media posts.

Iran’s soccer federation says it has lodged a criticism to FIFA over the removing of the phrase “Allah” from the Islamic Republic’s flag on social media posts by its counterpart in america, forward of an upcoming World Cup sport between the 2 nations.

“In an unprofessional act, the Instagram web page of the US soccer federation eliminated the Allah image from the Iranian flag,” state information company IRNA reported on Sunday.

“The Iran Soccer Federation despatched an e mail to FIFA to demand it problem a critical warning to the US federation,” it added.

There was no fast public response from world soccer’s governing physique to the reported criticism, which got here because the US prepares to face Iran in a decisive World Cup match on Tuesday — a fixture already burdened by the many years of enmity between the nations.

The US and Iran lower diplomatic relations in 1980.

Present of ‘assist’ for Iran protests

The US Soccer Federation (USSF) mentioned in a press release on Sunday morning it had determined to forego the official flag on social media accounts in a present of solidarity with the “girls in Iran preventing for fundamental human rights” within the wake of the loss of life of 22-year-old Iranian girl Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The Islamic Republic’s flag consists of three horizontal bands in pink, white and inexperienced with the phrase “Allah” showing in stylised script within the center.

The Twitter account of the US males’s group displayed a banner with the squad’s matches within the group stage, with the Iranian flag solely bearing its inexperienced, white and pink colors. The identical was seen in a publish on its Fb and Instagram accounts laying out the purpose totals to date in its group.

By Sunday afternoon, the conventional flag with the symbol had been restored within the Twitter banner, and the Fb and Instagram posts with the altered flag had been eliminated.

“We wished to indicate our assist for the ladies in Iran with our graphic for twenty-four hours,” the federation mentioned.

The United Nations says greater than 300 folks have been killed amid a crackdown on the protests which erupted within the wake of Amini’s loss of life in September, and a few 14,000 have been arrested, together with youngsters. Iran has accused the US and different international states of fomenting the demonstrations, with out offering proof.

Eagerly awaited rematch

Iran’s Tasnim information company mentioned on Twitter that the US group had “breached the FIFA constitution, for which a 10-game suspension is the suitable penalty”.

The US group “ought to be kicked out” of the World Cup, it added.

It’s not anticipated that FIFA will take any such motion.

In the meantime, the 2 nations’ prospects on the pitch on the World Cup stay finely posed.

Iran’s dramatic 2-0 win over Wales and the US group’s tense goalless stalemate in opposition to England on Friday arrange a tantalising closing spherical of Group B matches.

England, sitting prime with 4 factors, face the underside aspect Wales, which means the Iran-United States contest will resolve which group goes by way of to the spherical of 16.

The eagerly awaited assembly is a rematch of the 1998 World Cup group stage contest, dubbed the “mom of all video games”, which Iran received 2-1. In a symbolic second earlier than that match at Lyon’s Stade Gerland, the Iranian gamers gave white roses, an emblem of peace within the nation, to their American opponents.