Vets object to flags in stadium display

CANTON, Ohio, June 2 (UPI) -- Officials for an Ohio junior football tournament say they're sorry for a banner that depicted the Canadian flag atop an American flag.

The intent of the display at Fawcett Stadium in Canton was to indicate the seedings in the 2009 International Federation of American Football Junior World Championships. The Canadian team is the top seed, followed by the United States, The Canton Repository said Tuesday.

However, a handful of U.S. military veterans and others objected, and tournament host committee chairman Robert Belden apologized for the flag flap.

"It was a case of miscommunication for the most part," he told the newspaper. "It's my fault we didn't catch it. We didn't mean to offend anyone or cause any disrespect for veterans of the U.S., or Canada or any of the other countries. We're going to reconfigure the flags and take care of the situation."

"The flag has nothing to do with football rankings. Period," former U.S. Marine Robert Harris of Uniontown, Ohio, told the Repository.