The displays appeared to come from members of the Emerald City Supporters (ECS), an independent fan club known for political activism and Antifa affiliations.
A sea of Palestinian flags were seen waving throughout Lumen Field on Monday night during a FIFA Club World Cup match between the Seattle Sounders and Paris Saint-Germain, despite the Sounders' previously stated ban on such displays.
The flags appeared prominently during the match, which ended in a 2-0 loss for the Sounders despite neither Palestine nor Israel being one of the teams in the match.
https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1937252132287316325
The displays appeared to come from members of the Emerald City Supporters (ECS), an independent fan club known for political activism and Antifa affiliations, the same club waving the flags this week.
A FIFA spokesperson told The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI that Palestinian flags were permitted at the game because both Israel and Palestine are recognized competitors in FIFA. However, this stands in contrast to the Sounders’ own policy.
Following the October 7, 2023 terrorist attacks in Israel—carried out by Hamas terrorists and resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 civilians in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust—photos and video circulating on social media showed fans in the Brougham End section waving Palestinian flags, hoisting a banner that read “Free Gaza,” and displaying a flag bearing an Antifa logo in the colors of the Palestinian flag.
However, before the match, the Sounders had issued an updated Fan Code of Conduct explicitly banned the display of flags representing either Israel or Palestine, stating the rule was put in place “to ensure public safety and to make all fans feel secure against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza.”
https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1719206866373541971
The club said it had received feedback from members of the community who no longer felt safe or welcome at matches due to previous incidents, including the October 30, 2023, playoff match where similar Palestinian flags and “Free Gaza” signs were displayed.
https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1719214842647904616
One fan told The Post Millennial at the time that a “cheerleader had the Palestinian flag draped around his neck for the entirety of the game after he held it up and waved it around after his speech.” Fans also reported that stadium security made no attempt to intervene or remove the displays.
https://twitter.com/GuyOron/status/1719179512087462166
Despite their official policy, the Sounders have previously struggled with enforcing bans on political symbols. In 2019, the team attempted to prohibit Antifa symbols, including the Iron Front flag — a symbol historically tied to anti-Nazi resistance, but more recently associated with violent Antifa activism. After pushback from activist fan groups, the team reversed the ban.
Antifa-affiliated protesters have since appeared at rallies in support of Hamas, with some members defending the October 7 attacks as "justified resistance." The overlap of these political ideologies with fan activity at Sounders games has raised further concerns about the team’s ability to maintain a neutral and safe space for all spectators.
Meanwhile, the Sounders continue to battle declining attendance. Once drawing crowds of over 40,000, the team averaged just 30,754 fans per game last season. In a bid to rebuild their fan base, the club recently launched a “First Match On Us” promotion aimed at bringing in new attendees.
As of now, the Sounders have not responded to the apparent violation of their flag policy during Monday’s match.
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