Iran and Egypt will headline Seattle’s ‘Pride Match’. Here’s why it’s controversial
When Iran and Egypt take to the Seattle Stadium on Friday, their national flags won’t be the only ones flying on the field.
“Rainbow flags will be allowed on the field,” said Hedda McLendon, the oldest vice president in the history of the Seattle World Cup organizing committee.
FIFA, which is organizing the 2026 World Cup in 16 cities in North America, “has been clear that any flag that represents gender or sexuality is a human rights flag and is therefore permissible,” he told CBC News.
The game, which pits two of the most anti-2SLGBTQ+ countries in the world, has been designated a “Pride Match” by Seattle World Cup organizers.
The decision to name the game in that way was made by the country’s committee long before Iran and Egypt entered the competition.
The game falls during Seattle Pride Week, a series of 2SLGBTQ+ celebrations that dates back to 1974 and is celebrated the last week of June.
But that did not stop the controversies that have rocked the game since the 2026 World Cup was drawn in early December.
Both Iran and Egypt have called for the celebrations to be cancelled, with The Confederation of African Football says “refuse primarily to hold any support-related activities [homosexuality] during the game.”
While some soccer fans say they understand that it is within Seattle’s right to use the World Cup to promote Pride Week, they question whether this is the right venue for it.
“I’m not from Seattle, I’m not from America, so it doesn’t really bother me. What I think about is the issue where football is political,” said Nima Tavallaey, an Iranian-Swedish football journalist.
Will this game change minds?
Same-sex relationships it is illegal in Iranbasing its legal, political and social framework on Shia Islamic law.
As for Egypt, there are no laws that clearly criminalize same-sex acts, but criminals have been arrested and prosecuted on the basis of same-sex. vague obscenity laws in the African country.
Andrew Ashiofu, a member of the Seattle LGBTQ Commission, said the flag will be a “message” to Iran and Egypt that “we are a free city, we are a welcoming city that celebrates everyone, all races, all genders, all genders.”
But Tavallaey said that dog people are already stigmatized and seen as enemies in those countries, and pushing the Pride Match brand into the game “doesn’t help them at all.”
He said he wished we lived in a world where “these issues are not even a problem,” but they are not.
“The truth is that if you really want to win people over to your side, you will communicate with them and you will have to do it in a respectful way,” he said.
“You can’t do it by pointing the finger at them and speaking down, especially if you come from Western countries, which have more blood than their conscience,” he added, noting the support of other Western countries for Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
McLendon, of the Seattle organizing committee, said he respects that the city and state have different values when it comes to 2SLGBTQ+ rights. But even in situations where people “can’t come out and can’t be proud,” visibility is still important.
“That doesn’t mean that they have to go public, it doesn’t mean that their situation will change, but we hope that it will bring happiness and a little more visibility,” he said.
At the end of the day, McLendon said, part of the goal is to “uplift the LGBT community in Washington state,” including helping local small businesses benefit economically. It is not about ending homophobia in Iran or Egypt with a symbol, he said.
They don’t play with politics
As players from all over the world came to North America, some journalists used the opportunity to ask them political questions.
That’s especially true of Iran, whose players have staunchly backed away from unsettled political questions.
Tavallaey said he was concerned that players would be asked questions about their countries’ record on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, when they shouldn’t be facing their own country’s laws.
“I must have missed history… when celebrities who have no power in politics, who are not in the government, who are not elected officials, have become representatives of political issues,” he said.
Tavallaey, an atheist, said these “problems” are often asked by representatives of Muslim nations, but North Americans and Europeans do not receive the same treatment.
No one would ask Canadian soccer star Jonathan David “what he thinks about the Canadian government giving a hat to a Nazi, a real SS veteran, in Parliament.” [in 2023]because it’s bad, it has nothing to do with him,” he said.
McLendon said that just coming to the United States is a “political issue” for some groups, so they will be asked questions about it.
But, he said, “just because you participate in sports or participate in a culture that is not yours does not mean that you are responsible for what happens there.”
Iran is playing its first World Cup match in California, but US travel restrictions mean players are not allowed to stay in the country between games. Afshin Ghotbi, who has coached Iran’s national team and Vancouver FC, as well as teams in three World Cup tournaments, says these rules may affect Iran’s performance on the field.
FIFA position
In a call with CBC News, a FIFA spokesperson emphasized that Pride Match marketing is not how the organizing body will market the Iran-Egypt match.
“We try to keep every game as neutral as possible and approach each game like any other game,” the spokesperson said.
That means no rainbow arms. But FIFA said it would not pressure Seattle to remove the Pride Match name, something Tavallaey believes it should do.
“It’s still a FIFA tournament,” he said. “They are the ones who decide who they want to associate with and how.
“If Seattle wants to have these celebrations, it’s completely their right and nobody has a say…. But it’s a FIFA event in that city, and they have strict rules about what’s allowed and what’s not allowed. They have to put those in place.”
McLendon said that FIFA is in charge of the competition on the field. But his organization deals with everything that happens outside the place and in the community.
He said FIFA encouraged the different cities that will host the games to bring their communities and cultures to the games.
Since the 2SLGBTQ+ community is a protected class in Seattle, promoting Pride is “showing who we are,” she said.
“Each country playing in the World Cup has its own culture and personality, and we are excited and honored to show the world what is ours – and it includes a very vibrant and large LGBT community.”
