Egypt and Iran will play against each other in the World Cup’s “pride match”, despite both nations criminalising same sex relationships.
Both countries’ football federations objected to the plan, but organisers say the celebrations will continue as part of the host city’s LGBT weekend in June 2026.
Seattle will hold its events outside the stadium, and FIFA will allow rainbow flags inside the venue. Local organisers say the Pride programming reflects the city’s long support for equality and will go ahead regardless of the complaints.
The math is ahead of the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969, an event which is one of the most significant in the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States.
These plans were put in place, however, before the identity of the two competing teams was decided at Friday’s World Cup draw in Washington.
Homosexuality can be punished in Iran by the death penalty and is highly stigmatised in Egypt. The Egyptian FA was first to react, writing to Fifa secretary-general Mattias Grafström to outline its “absolute” rejection of any activities linked to LGBTQ+ support during the match.
Now the president of Iran’s Football Federation has criticised the plans as he vowed to bring up the issue during a Fifa meeting planned in Qatar in the coming weeks.
“Both Egypt and we have objected, because this is an unreasonable and illogical move that essentially signals support for a particular group, and we must definitely address this point,” Mehdi Taj told Iranian state television.
The Egyptian letter of complaint over Pride had said: “In order to maintain the spirit of unity and peace, it is necessary to avoid including activities that could provoke cultural and religious sensitivities between fans present from both countries, Egypt and Iran, especially since such activities are culturally and religiously incompatible with the two countries.
“The federation also relied on Fifa’s established principle of respecting cultures and encouraging all parties to organise events in a way that respects the beliefs and identities of the participating communities.
“Therefore, in order to ensure that the match is held in an atmosphere of respect and focus solely on the sporting aspect, the Egyptian Federation categorically rejects these calls and demands that Fifa not hold any events or performances related to supporting homosexuality inside the stadium on match day.”
Despite this, the match will still go ahead.