United States men’s national team manager Gregg Berhalter apologized for controversial U.S. Soccer Federation social media posts that removed the emblem of the Islamic Republic from Iran’s flag, saying that he and his players had no involvement or knowledge of the decision to do so.
“The players and the staff knew nothing about what was being posted,” Berhalter said during a press conference Monday, per ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle. “Sometimes things are out of our control. We believe that it’s going to be a match that the result will depend on who puts more effort in, who executes better on the field. And we’re not focused on those outside things. All we can do on our behalf is apologize on behalf of the players and the staff, but it’s not something that we are part of.”
The United States Soccer Federation said it made the decision to edit the official flag’s appearance to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights” amid widespread protests in the country that broke out following the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested by Iran’s morality police. Since the protests began, at least 450 people have been killed and over 18,000 have been arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an organization that has been tracking the demonstrations.
