D.C. United supporters protest team’s Saudi Arabia trip

Five groups — Buzzard Point Social, District Ultras, 202 Unique, Rose Room Collective and La Banda Del Distrito — said they will not bang drums, wave flags or sing in unison.

“We don’t want D.C. United to get in bed with people like that,” said Don Rankin, a member of Buzzard Point Social. “We know what’s done is done, but we can make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The team’s largest fan group — the Screaming Eagles — will not go as far with its actions at Audi Field. “We will always stand with our players and coaches on the field who were clearly not part of the decision to go to Saudi Arabia,” the group said in a statement Tuesday. “At the same time, we fully understand and respect any group’s choice to not provide organized support through the first four matches of the season.”

The Screaming Eagles said they stand with other fan groups in their “shared anger with D.C. United’s preseason partnership with the Saudi government, as no one should turn a blind eye to human rights.”

The group said it would make donations to human rights causes in Saudi Arabia.

“We completely understand Screaming Eagles are going to do their own thing,” Rankin said. “We are as united as we’ve been in a long time.”

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The groups plan to raise protest banners in the stadium and distribute fliers.

The smaller fan groups stopped short of boycotting matches.

Rankin said, “We definitely want to support the players and the new coach,” Troy Lesesne, who, along with new general manager Ally Mackay, have met with the groups to discuss the upcoming season.

The groups said they have been unsuccessful in attempting to arrange a meeting with United ownership to receive an explanation of the club’s reasoning for the trip and its relationship with Saudi Arabia.

United had all expenses paid and received appearance fees for a 17-day visit that included four friendlies. The trip was the first step in building business ties with Saudi entities, people familiar with the team’s plans said. Under the arrangement, Saudi clubs might play exhibitions at Audi Field and United could return to the kingdom for camp next winter, those people said.

United officials have not responded to interview requests this week.

Saudi Arabia has thrown billions at sports in recent years. The Public Investment Fund, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, runs LIV Golf, which has challenged the PGA Tour’s standing as the sport’s preeminent circuit. The Saudi pro soccer league has drawn many top European players, and Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup.

United was not the only MLS team to visit Saudi Arabia this winter. Inter Miami, featuring global superstar Lionel Messi, played two matches there as part of a preseason tour that also included El Salvador, Hong Kong and Japan.

United typically trains in a warm-weather location in the United States, such as Florida or California. In Saudi Arabia, the team based itself in Jeddah and played three friendlies before ending its tour with a Feb. 9 match in Dammam.

“Highly disappointing,” Screaming Eagles President Jimi Butler said of United’s decision to visit Saudi Arabia. “Disappointed in what they do, knowing full well the human rights violations that continue in that country, and taking money to go there does not deliver the right message about who and what the club is.”

Rankin said the protest is important in supporting LBGTQ+ fans in the groups and the team’s broader fan base. Saudi Arabia has some of the strictest anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the world.

At soccer stadiums worldwide, supporters’ groups make up the most passionate fans. The Screaming Eagles, who had 1,400 paying members last year, have existed since MLS launched in 1996.

From Audi Field’s north end, the supporters’ groups are the noisiest and most animated, leading other sections in chants. Their efforts are vital to creating a festive atmosphere at Audi Field, which, without a roof over the north and south ends, does not retain noise well.

With many fans quieter than usual, “it is going to deaden the atmosphere, but it’s not going to be entirely dead,” Butler said.

United’s subsequent home matches are March 16 vs. Miami, March 30 vs. Montreal and April 13 vs. Orlando City.