Report: Tokyo Olympics Social Media Team Banned From Posting Athletes Taking A Knee

Five women's soccer teams, including the U.S. women's national team, took a kneel prior to their respective matches on Wednesday.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has banned its social media teams from posting images of Olympians taking a knee in protest at the Tokyo Games, according to The Guardian.

The British newspaper reports that the mandate was issued before Wednesday's opening women's soccer match between Great Britain and Chile, where both teams took a knee before the start of the match. 

The U.S. women's national team, Sweden and New Zealand each followed suit as the gesture was broadcast on the international television feed, which is a separate entity from the Olympic's social media teams. 

Earlier this month, the IOC relaxed Rule 50 to allow for peaceful protests on the field of play as long as it proceeds without disruption prior to the start of the competition. However, acts of protest on the medal podium are still forbidden. 

"It is allowed,” IOC president Thomas Bach said of the kneeling at a press conference on Wednesday. “It is no violation of Rule 50. That is expressively what is allowed in these guidelines.”

Yet the Olympics social media channels, including its live blog, did not share any of the images on Wednesday to its audience the totals more than half a million followers.