All players representing the US national team must “stand respectfully” for the national anthem before matches, US Soccer has ruled. The change comes in the wake of the controversy kicked off by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who chose not to stand for the anthem last season. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick set to stand for national anthem next year Read moreThe new policy was revealed by the US federation during their AGM in Hawaii this weekend. Stuart Holden (@stuholden) New Policy added to @ussoccer bylaws: Players "shall stand respectfully during playing of national anthem @ which federation is represented" pic.twitter.com/fkVtCI1iHCThe bylaw states: “All persons representing a federation national team shall stand respectfully during the playing of national anthems at any event in which the federation is represented.”Rapinoe chose to kneel to protest against social inequality. “As part of the privilege to represent your country, we have an expectation that our players and coaches will stand and honor our flag while the national anthem is played,” it said in a statement.

Source: The Guardian March 04, 2017 21:11 UTC