The Timbers Army, the supporters’ group for the Portland Timbers, joined with fans of the Seattle Sounders to stage a protest Friday against a Major League Soccer policy that bans the use of political signs and displays at games.

Among the specific signage that is barred by the league’s new fan code of conduct for being political is the “Iron Front” symbol, an emblem with three arrows pointing downward which was first used by an anti-Nazi paramilitary organization in Germany in the 1930s. MLS’s new fan code of conduct was introduced at the start of the 2019 season.

The Timbers Army, along with the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC, two Sounders supporters’ groups, protested the policy Friday by not displaying their traditional tifos, large choreographed displays that fans raise before games, or engaging in "organized chants and songs, choreography, flag-waving, or playing of drums or trumpets” during a nationally televised rivalry game between the Timbers and Sounders at Providence Park. A significant number of fans in the supporters’ sections remained silent until the end of the 33rd minute “to commemorate 1933, the year that the Iron Front was disbanded in Nazi Germany.”

In the 33rd minute, the fans then broke into a modified rendition of “Bella ciao,” an Italian anthem of anti-fascist resistance. More than a dozen fans in both the home and away supporters’ sections at Providence Park held up Iron Front banners for the remainder of the half, in direct violation of the MLS ban.

The supporters’ groups said in a statement Friday that they were “acting in solidarity in protest of MLS’s inconsistent policies and its ban on displaying the Iron Front image on banners and flags, as well as promoting a shared goal of ensuring that anti-fascist and anti-racist stances are formally recognized as being non-political.”

MLS has faced backlash over the last several months from some fans for its decision to ban the Iron Front symbol. Fans say that the Iron Front symbol is not political because it represents an opposition to fascism and oppression, which are issues of human rights. MLS is concerned that the symbol has been adopted by the antifa movement, a loose affiliation of activists whose protests against fascism and racism have sometimes turned violent.

Members of multiple supporters’ groups have pushed back against the ban, posting Iron Front imagery on Twitter under the hashtag #AUnitedFront. Members of the Timbers Army and fans from other supporters’ groups have also protested the policy by choosing not to purchase concessions at games.

But the Timbers Army, who are known as one of the most raucous and passionate supporters’ groups in MLS, and traveling supporters for the Sounders took their protest to a new level with their silence at Friday’s rivalry game.

They want to silence us? Let's show them what that sounds like. #AUnitedFront #RCTID pic.twitter.com/3MNx1CjqIy — Timbers Army (@timbersarmy) August 22, 2019

In a statement released Friday, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust, the nonprofit arm of the Timbers Army and Rose City Riveters, along with the two Sounders fan groups called on MLS to rescind its ban on the Iron Front flag, remove the word “political" from its fan code of conduct as "it is inherently arbitrary” and craft language in the code of conduct that “reflects and supports radical inclusion and anti-discrimination.” The group previously released another statement with the same sentiments.

MLS’s new fan code of conduct specifically bars fans from “using (including on any sign or other visible representation) political, threatening, abusive, insulting, offensive language and/or gestures, which includes racist, homophobic, xenophobic, sexist or otherwise inappropriate language or behavior.”

While the new code of conduct prohibits fans from holding up signs and displays with the Iron Front symbol, it does not prohibit supporters from wearing clothing with the icon. Fans are also not prohibited from displaying other signs that espouse anti-fascist, anti-racist or pro-immigrant messaging. The Timbers, along with several other clubs, worked directly with the league to ensure that the new code of conduct didn’t prohibit those types of displays.

The Timbers organization explained its stance on the Iron Front symbol in a lengthy statement Monday, making it clear that the club “opposes fascism and steadfastly stands against violence,” while also specifically stating in the final paragraph of the statement that the club understands and supports MLS’s decision to ban the Iron Front symbol:

“Major League Soccer believes the Iron Front symbol is inherently political because it has been co-opted by antifa. The solution that allows for specific denouncement of fascism on banners (as well as continued acceptance of personal apparel choices), in lieu of the Iron Front symbol, is more than fair. It clearly allows for those wanting to decry fascism at games to do so. Some rooted in this issue simply focus on the Iron Front banner ban as censorship and others look at it as an opportunity for protest. We believe if you step back and understand the issue, we are on very firm and equitable ground that achieves the desired approach to clearly denounce fascism. And the risk of a slippery slope of more prohibited expression is not a course we will allow. We didn’t make the rule banning the Iron Front on signs but we understand it and support it.”

The Timbers and Sounders organizations reiterated their opposition to fascism by each creating custom pennants for Friday’s game that included the phrases “anti-fascist" and “anti-racist." Timbers captain Diego Valeri and Sounders captain Nicolás Lodeiro exchanged the pennants prior to Friday’s match. The starting lineups from both teams then posed for a photo together with the pennants.

Bigger than a rivalry. We stand together against fascism and racism. #RCTID pic.twitter.com/vpMCF7qlZv — Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 24, 2019

The Timbers-Sounders rivalry has long been the fiercest rivalry in MLS, and games between the two sides are often some of the loudest matches played within the league. Yet, there was a noticeable difference to the feel of the game Friday night without cheers and chants emanating from the north end of Providence Park during the first 33 minutes.

A majority of the over 25,000 fans that attended the game at Providence Park Friday did not actively participate in the protest. Some fans even broke out into cheers of “PTFC” or “Let’s go Timbers” during the protest, while others expressed displeasure with the Timbers Army’s actions on social media. But plenty of fans participated in the protest as well and the atmosphere at Providence Park was noticeably subdued early in Friday’s game as fans in the supporters’ section remained mostly silent.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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