Egypt and Iran have formally objected to their FIFA World Cup match being held in Seattle on a weekend when the city will host Pride celebrations, saying the game should not coincide with LGBT-focused activities.
FIFA’s draw placed Egypt and Iran in a June 26 match scheduled for Seattle. Local organizers had planned community programming around the stadium to coincide with the city’s Pride parade and festival at Seattle Center that same weekend. SeattleFWC26, the local World Cup organizing group, says it will keep its planned Pride events and other community programming throughout the tournament, stressing inclusion and accessibility while noting the region’s sizable Iranian-American and Egyptian communities.
Both national teams come from countries with socially conservative laws and enforcement practices targeting LGBTQ people. In Iran, same-sex sexual activity is criminalized and can carry the death penalty; other expressions of gender or sexuality may lead to imprisonment or corporal punishment. In Egypt, morality laws and police actions have led to arrests and harassment of people suspected of being gay.
The Egyptian Football Association issued a statement rejecting what it called “the holding of any activities related to supporting homosexuality” during the match and formally asked FIFA to prevent activities it said could provoke cultural or religious sensitivities. Iran’s football federation president, Mehdi Taj, said Tehran had protested on state television, calling it unreasonable to use the match to support a specific group; Iran’s sports minister said Iran also lodged a complaint with FIFA. FIFA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Seattle organizers have framed staging World Cup matches during Pride and Juneteenth as an opportunity to reflect the city’s values. Another Seattle match, the U.S. vs. Australia on June 19, will fall on Juneteenth. Organizers expect more than 750,000 visitors in Seattle during the tournament and say they intend to welcome and treat all visitors and residents with respect and dignity.
The dispute recalls controversies from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where clashes over LGBTQ symbols drew widespread attention. European teams had planned to wear rainbow armbands in 2022 but withdrew after FIFA warnings, and some fans and journalists later said they were asked to remove rainbow items at stadiums. Observers criticized FIFA for a slow response to those incidents.