Donald Trump vows to stop watching NFL and US soccer games after sports bodies change rules to allow players to kneel during the national anthem amid Black Lives Matter movement

United States President Donald Trump has said he will not watch National Football League (NFL) or US soccer matches if players do not stand for the national anthem.

The U.S. Soccer Federation last week said it had dropped its requirement that players stand during the anthem, saying the policy was wrong and detracted from the Black Lives Matter movement.

The policy was adopted in 2017 after U.S. women's national team captain Megan Rapinoe took a knee during the anthem before a game, in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who knelt to call attention to racial injustice.

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US President Donald Trump has vowed not to watch NFL or MLS amid Black Lives Matter

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Both sports bodies have changed their rules to allow players to kneel during national anthem

'I won't be watching much anymore,' Trump tweeted late on Saturday in response to a report of Republican congressman Matt Gaetz criticising the MLS move.

'And it looks like the NFL is heading in that direction also, but not with me watching,' Trump said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this month that the league had made mistakes in not listening to players and denounced racism in the country amid protests over police brutality against black people.

The issue returned to the fore last month after the killing in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

Trump has been a vocal critic of players kneeling during the anthem, previously tweeting that NFL players who did so were 'disrespecting our Country & our Flag'.  

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US Women's football star Megan Rapinoe knelt during the national anthem in 2017

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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell admitted the league made mistakes in their BLM approach