Pride Match Goes Ahead Despite Iran, Egypt Protests

FIFA’s designated Pride match at the 2026 World Cup went ahead as scheduled on Saturday, despite objections from fans and authorities tied to both teams. Egypt and Iran met in their third Group G match in Seattle, after Egypt had already secured a historic place in the knockout stage because of other results in the group.

The game was chosen as the tournament’s Pride fixture because it was set for Seattle, a city known for having one of the largest LGBTQ communities in the United States. The matchup carried added symbolism because both countries are Muslim-majority, Iran punishes homosexual relations with death, and such relations are also illegal in Egypt.

Even so, many fans entered the stadium carrying rainbow flags after a legal fight over access. In parallel, as in every Iran match so far at the World Cup, many supporters came with the Sun and Lion flag, the emblem used by Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as a protest against the authorities.

Both Egypt and Iran had asked for rainbow flags to be banned and for the game’s designation to be changed. FIFA said in response that “the World Cup welcomes people of all kinds, of all genders and of all sexual identities.”