The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) announced that they would be changing their team crest logo to include the LGBT Pride flag stripes rather than the American flag stripes it originally had for the 2022 World Cup.
This year’s World Cup has faced heavy criticism because it is being hosted by Qatar, a country known for its massive human rights violations. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern county to host the World Cup, and that change has come with a cultural shock for travelers. Leading up to the event, the country raised eyebrows for their mistreatment of migrant workers building the facilities the World Cup will be played in. But the biggest criticism towards Qatar by the United States has been its anti-homosexual laws. In Qatar, it is illegal to be openly gay or in a homosexual relationship.
To protest this, the USMNT announced that they would be changing their crest logo from the red stripes that represent the American flag, to rainbow stripes that represent the pride flag:
The U.S. team explained that the change was made to stand in solidarity with LGBT individuals. The pride logo will be present in the U.S. practice facilities.
“When we are on the world stage and when we are in a venue like Qatar, it is important to bring awareness to these issues and that is what ‘Be the Change’ is about…It is not just stateside that we want to bring attention to social issues, it is also abroad. We recognize that Qatar has made strides and there has been a ton of progress but there’s some work still to do.”
U.S. Men’s National Team coach Gregg Berhalter News Conference
But many have noticed that although these changes were made, the team is not wearing the pride crest while they are actually playing on the field. This is presumably because Qatar would refuse to allow the team to play under these conditions. Since the World Cup started, Qatar has denied the entry of fans wearing any pride merchandise.
FIFA has been criticized heavily by fans around the world for allowing a country like Qatar to host the event. The USMNT, by changing its logo, does little to actually protest the human rights issues at hand in the host country of Qatar. It’s more of a virtue signal than it is an act of defiance.
Meanwhile, an actual act of defiance was on display by the Iran national team. Iranian players refused to sing the country’s national anthem at the start of their first match. They did so in solidarity with the Iranian protests occurring after the murder of 22-year-old Masha Amini. This is a truly brave thing to do because these players are defying a dictatorial country and thus risking the well-being of them and their families.
