Seattle Sounders Fans Walk Out Of Match Due To MLS Ban Of Protest Signs

Following months of ideological clashing and semantic disagreements on the meaning of the word “political,” the largest Seattle Sounders supporter group took a more disruptive approach to its fight against MLS’s ban on protest signs, represented most clearly by those bearing the Iron Front logo. After the stadium officials ejected one fan from Sunday’s match between Seattle and the New York Red Bulls for waving an Iron Front flag, a vast majority of the Emerald City Supporters group walked out at halftime in protest:

Among the fans that remained, one waved the “Anti Racist, Anti Fascist, Always Seattle” flag that has become the symbol for this whole ordeal:

The Emerald City Supporters group had previously been involved in the highest-profile protest against the ban, when they—alongside fellow Sounders fan group Gorilla FC and outspoken Portland group Timbers Army—engaged in a silent protest for the first 33 minutes of the Sounders-Timbers rivalry game on August 23. According to Sounder At Heart, the three groups will meet with MLS to discuss the ban on September 19.