Iran wants to block the Pride match during the World Cup in the United States. “We have no interest in our third World Cup game being played under rainbow colors. We want to prevent this at all costs and will do so,” said Iran’s federation president Mehdi Taj, as reported by the daily Hammihan.
He added that the match against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle would clash with the Islamic mourning month “Muharram” — the Iranian sacred observance for the third Shiite imam, Hussein. Under these circumstances, such an event held concurrently with Muharram would be unthinkable for Iran, according to the federation president.
Homosexuality in Iran is a Sin
In Islamic Iran, homosexuality is regarded as a sin and can be punished with severe penalties up to the death penalty. Tehran views the World Cup organizers’ plans to stage the games under the banner of the LGBT community as an insult to Islamic values and sacred beliefs.
Football experts in the country, however, doubt that Iran will cancel the game due to LGBT celebrations. The team is in Group G with Egypt, Belgium, and New Zealand and aims — also in light of the new regulations — to advance beyond the group stage for the first time in its World Cup history.
Seattle to Host Pride Match
Egypt’s football federation had also protested the Pride Match in a letter to FIFA (TheColu.mn reported). In Egypt, there are criminal provisions “to protect morality or religion,” under which homosexuality can be punished, for example in laws related to prostitution or general decency.
The democratic-liberal U.S. city of Seattle had already decided, before the team draw, to celebrate the LGBT community during the last weekend of June 2026 (TheColu.mn reported). The World Cup organizers indicated they intended to stick with that plan.
