(Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said he would not watch the National Football League (NFL) or the American football team if players did not stand for the national anthem.
The Soccer Federation told us last week that players needed to stand up during the anthem, that the policy was wrong, and cut off from the Black Lives Matter movement.
The policy was adopted in 2017 when American quarterback Megan Rapinoe was kneeling during the anthem before a game of solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, calling for a focus on racial injustice.
Trump tweeted late on Saturday in response to a report by Republican Congressman Matt Getz, criticizing the US soccer move.
"And the NFL also seems to be moving in that direction, but it's not looking at me," Trump said.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said earlier this month that it was wrong to not pursue league players and condemn racism in the country in protest of police brutality against blacks.
The matter came to light after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a bullet to the neck of a white police officer last month.
Trump criticized players kneeling during the anthem, tweeting that NFL players who have done so in the past have "disrespected our country and our flag."
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