{"id":4876,"date":"2025-12-09T16:40:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=4876"},"modified":"2025-12-09T16:40:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T16:40:13","slug":"world-cup-2026-iran-objects-to-pride-match-branding-for-egypt-game-football-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=4876","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2026: Iran objects to \u2018Pride Match\u2019 branding for Egypt game | Football News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Iran\u2019s football chief has labelled the World Cup game chosen by organisers as an LGBTQ \u2018Pride Match\u2019 as an \u2018irrational move\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 9 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">9 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iran\u2019s football chief has objected to the \u201cirrational\u201d branding of its World Cup 2026 match against Egypt, which local organisers in the United States have suggested will be held in support of the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n<p>The organising committee in Seattle, Washington state, where the match is scheduled to take place next year, had previously announced their intention to hold a \u201cPride Match\u201d coinciding with the northwestern city\u2019s Pride Weekend in late June.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Following last week\u2019s FIFA tournament draw, Egypt and Iran are now slated to face off in Seattle on June 26, the Friday before.<\/p>\n<p>The head of Iran\u2019s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, was quoted by local news agency ISNA as saying Tehran and Cairo had both raised \u201cobjections against the issue\u201d, which he labelled an \u201cirrational move that supports a certain group\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Taj did not mention the specific branding of the fixture.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, Iranian state television said Tehran would \u201cappeal\u201d against FIFA over the matter.<\/p>\n<p>Homosexuality is illegal in Iran and can be punishable by death.<\/p>\n<p>The Egyptian Football Association has voiced similar objections, according to local media reports citing unnamed sources.<\/p>\n<p>In Egypt, homosexuality is not expressly outlawed, but is often punished under loosely worded laws prohibiting \u201cdebauchery\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 World Cup will mark Iran\u2019s seventh participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Iran and the US have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, following a hostage crisis in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution.<\/p>\n<p>Iran had initially opted out of Friday\u2019s draw to protest against the US refusal to grant visas to several members of its delegation, but eventually reversed its decision.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Taj said some Iranian players might face visa problems over their service in the Iranian military, which includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) \u2013 designated a \u201cterrorist organisation\u201d by the US in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the World Cup, we must work on having replacement options, and we have already started that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Iran is drawn in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in the 39-day tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4162149\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4162149\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4162149\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AFP__20251205__879L6ET__v1__HighRes__FblWc2026Draw-1765281347.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Shaquille O'Neal holds Iran banner.\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4162149\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">US draw assistant and former NBA player Shaquille O\u2019Neal shows the card reading Iran during the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC, on December 5, 2025 [Jim Watson\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s football chief has labelled the World Cup game chosen by organisers as an LGBTQ \u2018Pride Match\u2019 as an \u2018irrational move\u2019. Published On 9 Dec 20259 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Iran\u2019s football chief has objected to the \u201cirrational\u201d branding of its World Cup 2026 match against Egypt, which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}