Emerald City Supporters put out a statement today announcing that Concacaf has told the supporters group that a number of their flags and banners would not be allowed at the “home” leg of the Seattle Sounders Concacaf Champions Cup Round of 16 tie with the Vancouver Whitecaps, being played tonight at ONE Spokane Stadium.
“We find ourselves here, yet again,” the statement begins. “CONCACAF has informed us that our values and support of Human Rights are unacceptable for display at matches in their competition.” Ahead of the first leg of the tie ECS had been informed that Iron Front and “Anti-Fascist | Anti-Racist | Always Seattle” flags would not be allowed at BC Place. In spite of that, those flags still flew as the organization stood by their values. Now the list of prohibited displays has expanded to include “BLM Banners”, “Trans Rights”, “Raised Fist” and “No Place for Transphobia, Homophobia, Fascism, Sexism, Racism” flags and banners as well.
ECS has plenty of experience dealing with this sort of censorship from Concacaf, and has time and again stood up to it. The statement continues:
“As we’ve talked through this issue with the Sounders Front Office this week, we are proud to remain aligned on our values. Together, we determined that the best way to fight back against CONCACAF’s censorship is to publicly and loudly use our platforms as a fundraiser for local community organizations that do the work day-in and day-out to support the values that we share. In service of this partnership, the Sounders and RAVE Foundation have committed to make significant financial donations to the following organizations.
We encourage ECS members, Sounders fans, and others who share our values to join us by making a donation and amplifying these causes if you are able."
Lambert House: Lambert House’s work “empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth through the development of leadership, social, and life skills.”
Black Future Co-Op Fund: Black Future Co-Op Fund’s mission is to “ignite generational wealth, health, and well-being for Black Washingtonians through Black community-led philanthropy.”
Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network: WAISN’s work “builds collective power for immigrants and refugees across Washington through peaceful, non-violent, community led action.”
It remains to be seen if those flags will be in the stands in Spokane, but it’s possible that CONCACAF will force the section to be without a number of familiar flags.
