Soccer is often a great unifier — an opportunity for locals to set aside their various differences and come together to cheer together for their team. But Saturday night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, matters became all the more complicated.
Early in the first half of Saturday’s match between the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake, Rapids staff asked RSL fans not to display a rainbow flag.
The flag, usually a familiar symbol of LGBT pride, included the three arrow symbol associated with the Antifa movement. Antifa in the United States is a loose political movement that is said to be anti-racist and anti-fascist but also frequently espouses violence as a legitimate means to intimidate their opponents.
RSL Pride Flag Update: have said the RSL pride flag had an antifa symbol. The antifa symbol was why the flag was removed. Club official has picture of flag. They would NOT have removed it w/o the antifa symbol.
— Matt Pollard (@LWOSMattPollard)
RSL fans obliged, but then took issue with the decision on social media.
fans just got told by FO we can’t wave a Rainbow flag. Claim itap “political in nature”…. i thought we were
— The Riot (@OfficialRSLriot)
Colorado Rapids have not furnished a comment on the matter.
This is not the first time the league has confronted questions around racist and anti-racist factions. reaching back several seasons. Affiliated supporters, some with a history of violence, have been banned to varying degrees. Simultaneously, anti-fascist NYCFC supporters have reported bringing their flags to matches, only to have them confiscated by club officials.
The league has addressed the matter repeatedly this year. in which he clarified, “We have a very clear code of conduct for our matches, and in that code of conduct it is very clear that any hateful language, symbols or violence, or any intimidation, is going to result in sanctions.”
The league also states that clubs will take action against fans “using (including on any sign or other visible representation) political, threatening, abusive, insulting, offensive language and/or gestures, which includes racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist or otherwise inappropriate language or behavior.”
Worldwide, soccer is frequently associated with political and social movements on the left and the right. Teams such as Celtic in Scotland, Livorno in Italy and Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel have always been associated with political philosophies; some well-known teams were even founded as the sporting arms of political parties themselves. In Seattle and Portland, groups there have displayed anti-fascist banners before, without sanction. One of the Sounders main support groups, Gorilla FC, openly proclaims themselves to be an Antifa organization. On another occasion, another Seattle group, Emerald City Supporters, traveled to Vancouver with a banner that read ‘anti-racist, anti-fascist, always Seattle.’ Vancouver Whitecaps officials confiscated the banner. and declared the banner kosher, saying “At a human level, we believe these values to be non-political. Speaking up for equality is simply the right thing to do.”
