MILAN (AP) 鈥� Two fans who raised a flag of Greenland as the at the Winter Olympics Saturday in Milan say they did so as a gesture of European support for the island and for Denmark.
Vita Kalni艈a and her husband, Alexander Kalni艈拧 鈥� fans of the Latvian hockey team who live in Germany 鈥� held up during warmups and again when the Danish team scored the opening goal of the preliminary round game against the U.S., which ultimately .
“For us as Europeans it was important to show up (with) this symbol as a symbol of a European unity that we support Greenland,鈥� Kalni艈拧 told The Associated Press.
Trump鈥檚 rhetoric in recent weeks has stirred up national pride in Denmark, which oversees the semiautonomous island, as well as support from across the European continent.
Yet inside the hockey area on Saturday, Kalni艈a and Kalni艈拧 say they were told by venue staff that they could not continue to hold up the flag, even as American flags were waved throughout the stands.
鈥淗e said it was due to safety reasons, because there could be American aggressive people,鈥� Kalni艈拧 told The Associated Press.
Kalni艈a and Kalni艈拧 complied because they wanted to watch the game. After all, they said, they’d made their point because anyone inside the arena 鈥� and those watching on TV 鈥� had already seen the flag.
鈥淚 think the message was sent,鈥� Kalni艈拧 said.
The Greenland flag鈥檚 status at the Games is unclear because Greenland doesn鈥檛 participate with its own team. Greenlandic athletes, such as , compete as part of Denmark’s team.
A guide on the official Olympic website for the opening ceremony specified that fans can only bring 鈥渇lags of countries and territories participating in the Games.鈥�
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the kingdom of Denmark.
Kalni艈a and Kalni艈拧 said they want Greenlanders to know that Europe supports the Arctic island whether it stays a part of Denmark or ultimately chooses full independence.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not OK that Trump and America are this aggressive and try to incorporate the island into their country,鈥� Kalni艈拧 said
Meanwhile, the Danish athletes playing in the said politics never made it to the ice.
As for the strained relationship between the U.S. and Denmark, 鈥渨e didn鈥檛 even mention it鈥� within the team, captain Jesper Jensen Aabo said. 鈥淲e just wanted to against a world-class team. We didn鈥檛 need extra fire to fire us up. We were ready for the game even though there鈥檚 stuff going around in the real world, so that鈥檚 nothing that affected us at all.鈥�
The captain said the players did not notice the Greenland flag in the stands.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 see it, but that was nice,鈥� Jensen Aabo said. 鈥淪o hopefully they supported us.鈥�
Other American and Danish fans who watched their teams face off said they believe sports transcends politics amid recent tensions between their governments over Greenland.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter whatever sport it is 鈥� it could be tennis, it could be bobsledding, it can be ice hockey, it could be football 鈥� it has nothing to do with politics,” Danish fan Dennis Petersen, his face covered in red and white paint to symbolize the kingdom’s flag, told the AP ahead of the game. “They are athletes, not politicians.鈥�
American fan Rem de Rohan, sporting a stars and stripes jacket, agreed that politics should be left at the stadium gate.
鈥淚 think this is the time for people to kind of put that down and compete country versus country and enjoy,” he said. 鈥淲e love rooting on every country that鈥檚 been here.鈥�
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Kostya Manenkov, James Ellingworth and Stephen Whyno in Milan contributed to this report.
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