Olympic Officials Reject Iraq’s Request to Relocate Israeli Flag

The head of Iraq’s delegation revealed that Olympic officials had declined their request to avoid displaying the Israeli flag next to Iraq’s flag during the Paris Games.

Iraq’s men’s football team defeated Ukraine 2-1 on Wednesday in Lyon but lost 3-1 to Argentina on Saturday.

Herda Raouf told AFP that upon arriving at the Lyon Stadium on Wednesday, the Iraqi flag was displayed alongside the Israeli flag, even though the Israeli team was not scheduled to play in Lyon. Raouf, whose country does not recognize Israel and supports the Palestinian cause, said the delegation asked an International Olympic Committee (IOC) representative to relocate or remove the Israeli flag, but their request was denied.

According to Raouf, the IOC representative stated that flags of all participating countries needed to be displayed in alphabetical order.

Raouf also mentioned that the delegation sent a formal protest via email to the IOC before the match with Argentina, but this request was also rejected.

French security forces designated the Ukraine-Iraq and Israel-Mali football matches on Wednesday as high-risk events, with approximately 1,000 French police officers deployed to secure Israel’s game against Mali, where fans displayed both Palestinian and Israeli flags.

The Palestine Olympic Committee had previously requested a ban on Israeli athletes at the Paris Olympics due to the conflict in Gaza, but this request was rejected.

Following a 1-1 draw with Mali, Israel’s team is set to play Paraguay on Saturday in Paris.