American athletes have been warned not to wave the US flag during medal celebrations at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens, for fear of provoking crowd hostility and harming the country’s already battered public image.

The spectacle of victorious athletes grabbing a national flag and parading it around the stadium is a familiar part of international sporting competitions, but US Olympic officials have ordered their 550-strong team to exercise restraint and avoid any jingoistic behaviour.

The plan is part of a programme aimed at repairing the country’s international reputation following the deepening crisis in Iraq and damaging revelations of torture and mistreatment of detainees by US forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.

“American athletes find themselves in extraordinary circumstances in Athens in relation to the world as we know it right now,” said Mike Moran, a veteran former spokesman for the US Olympic Committee who has been retained as a consultant to advise athletes about the correct way to behave.

“Regardless of whether there is anti-American sentiment in Athens or not, the world watches Americans a lot now in terms of how they behave and our culture. What I am trying to do with the athletes and coaches is to suggest to them that they consider how the normal things they do at an event, including the Olympics, might be viewed as confrontational or insulting or cause embarrassment.

“'Four years ago, at the Sydney Olympics, the victorious American 4x100m relay team were widely condemned for their arrogant strutting with the US flag following their gold medal presentation, and American officials, mindful of the country’s precarious standing in world opinion, are desperate to avoid any repeat.

“Unfortunately, using the flag as a prop or a piece of apparel or indulging in boasting behaviour is becoming part of our society in sport because every night on TV we see our athletes — professional, college or otherwise — taunting their opponents and going face to face with each other,” said Moran. “We are trying for 17 days to break that culture.

“What I am telling the athletes is: ‘Don’t run over and grab a flag and take it round the track with you’. It’s not business as usual for American athletes. If a Kenyan or a Russian grabs their national flag and runs around the track or holds it high over their heads, it might not be viewed as confrontational. Where we are in the world right now, an American athlete doing that might be viewed in another manner.”

Moran added that the behaviour of British athletes could face similar scrutiny in Athens, though the British Olympic Association insists there are no plans to ban them from celebrating with the national flag.

The US Olympic Committee’s anxiety at over-exuberant, displays of jingoism is a far cry from the scenes at the 2002 Winter Olympics, hosted by Salt Lake City, where the American flag became the defining symbol of the Games. A different environment awaits the American team in Athens, where officials are anxious to replace apple pie with humble pie.