“We note this guidance which will be implemented.”
The Ulster Banner will continue to be used by the Northern Ireland team at the Commonwealth Games following Stormont ministerial guidance.
It comes after a suggestion that Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland (CGNI) would use the CGNI corporate logo at the games in Glasgow in the continued absence of guidance from Stormont.
In a statement on Tuesday evening, CGNI said they had been asking Stormont since November 2020 for guidance regarding which flags should be flown at the Commonwealth Games.
They said following “extensive media coverage on Monday”, Mr Lyons “provided such guidance”.
“The Minister for Communities, who holds the portfolio for sports, offered ‘clear and unequivocal guidance’ and stated ‘For the avoidance of doubt, and to reiterate on the guidance which you have sought, the Ulster Banner should be used as the flag for Northern Ireland athletes at the Commonwealth Games’.
“We note this guidance which will be implemented.”
They added: “The CGNI Board and member sports are representative of the wider Northern Ireland community. We will continue to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in all we do, in line with our motto, One Community, One Team.”
Mr Lyons said CGNI “made the right decision this evening”.
“Now is the time to focus on supporting our incredible athletes,” he added in a post on the social media network X.
TUV leader Jim Allister also welcomed the statement.
“That confirmation brings to an end an unnecessary and deeply divisive episode which should never have arisen,” he said.
“The Ulster Banner has represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games for decades. It is the settled and internationally recognised symbol under which generations of our athletes have competed and succeeded.”
Earlier, Mr Lyons said he would explore whether he has the power to enforce the use of the Ulster Banner as the Northern Ireland flag at the Commonwealth Games.
He said he had written to CGNI telling it that the existing flag should be flown.
However, he has said that the power to decide may lie with the organisation.
The DUP minister told the BBC’s The Nolan Show that there is “no consensus” on what a new flag would look like.
He added: “The removal of the use (of the Ulster Banner) is a controversial decision.
“Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland have said that they are looking for some guidance from Stormont.
“I am setting out my position, as was my position back in 2024 when this was first raised, I think this is the wrong route to go down.
“I think the focus, as we head towards the Commonwealth Games, should actually be on sport, not on flags, especially when there isn’t consensus on what a new flag would look like.
“I have spent a lot of time talking to our athletes, especially since I have been in this post over the last couple of years.”
The minister said no athletes had ever raised concerns with him about the flag.
He said: “I don’t think there can be any doubt over the position of the various political parties over the course of the past year.
“The important thing is we don’t have consensus on what an alternative would look like.
“In the absence of that consensus, I think it is important we stick with the status quo.”
Asked if he had the power to enforce the use of the Ulster Banner at the games, he said: “I will explore that but right now it seems that the power does lie with them to decide.
“They have said they wanted guidance, they have received that.”
Speaking on Monday, First Minister Michelle O’Neill commended CGNI for “trying to actually get an agreed way forward”.
She said: “I believe there’s some suggestion on their part that perhaps to be inclusive and to reflect all of the membership of all those athletes that will go out and compete, that they’re suggesting perhaps using their own team logo.
“I mean I commend that approach if that’s the approach that they take, I think it’s much better coming organically from the organisation.
“Look, I think the organisation is trying to reflect all the athletes that compete for them at the games.
“We have so many good, talented athletes here, I regret the fact that we’re caught up in a flag conversation as opposed to celebrating the talent that we have.”
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