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Timbers Army, Other Fans Protest MLS Ban on Political Displays at Sounders Game

The Timbers Army, which is the fan group for the Portland Timbers, joined fans of the Seattle Sounders on Friday to protest Major League Soccer policy that bans political signs and displays at games, reports The Oregonian's Jamie Goldberg.

The league's new fan code of conduct, implemented at the start of this season, prohibits "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."

The Sounders and the Timbers banned signs and flags with the "Iron Front" symbol, which they say has become appropriated by some in the loosely structured Antifa movement, at times in the context of violence.