Iran presses FIFA to block Pride symbols as Seattle's 'Pride Match' with Egypt nears

A draw that became a flashpoint

Seattle's local World Cup organising committee (SeattleFWC26) had long marked 26 June as a date to celebrate LGBTQ+ visibility, aligning with the city's half-century-old Pride parade. When the World Cup draw in December pitted Egypt and Iran against each other in the city's Lumen Field that same night, the committee's 'Pride Match' branding collided with two nations that criminalise homosexuality. Egypt's football association immediately protested, warning that any LGBTQ activities would "provoke cultural and religious sensitivities among fans." Iran's federation labelled the designation an "irrational move that supports a certain group."

Iran and Egypt push back hard

This week, just over 24 hours before kick-off, Iran escalated its opposition. Its federation wrote to FIFA demanding that "no ceremony or promotional activity" linked to the Pride movement take place inside the stadium or within the official match environment. A spokesperson stressed the two Muslim-majority countries expected FIFA to act on their joint position. Iran's football president Mahdi Taj had already signalled defiance in December:

We have no interest in our third World Cup match being played under rainbow colours. We are determined to prevent it and we will.

FIFA walks a tightrope

FIFA responded by reiterating its stadium code of conduct, which permits rainbow flags and other general statements of human rights provided they are not deemed political.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome.

Yet the global body has distanced itself from the Pride Match label. President Gianni Infantino told Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche in January:

There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle and, on the same day, events organised by external organisations will take place in the city. But that has nothing to do with the match itself.

The stance echoes Qatar 2022, where FIFA threatened yellow cards for captains wearing the OneLove armband.

Seattle stands firm

SeattleFWC26 insists the Pride Match celebration is bigger than the game itself. Hedda McLendon, the committee's senior vice president of legacy, described it as "a citywide celebration of visibility, belonging and community."

We see this as an opportunity to introduce the world to what it looks like to live in a place where the LGBT community is a protected class... where we get to hold hands in public, where we show our joy on the streets.

She added that the Pride weekend, now in its sixth decade, "is going to happen long after the World Cup." An estimated 300,000 people are expected at Sunday's parade.

Broader echoes

The controversy reignites debates about football's relationship with LGBTQ+ rights. In France, Yoann Lemaire, president of the anti-homophobia group Foot Ensemble, noted the irony of the fixture and questioned whether the attention would generate positive or negative conversation. FIFA's cautious line, allowing rainbow symbols but disowning the official Pride branding, mirrors its earlier approach in Qatar and leaves Seattle's local organisers as the public face of an event that has already drawn diplomatic protests from Cairo and Tehran.