{"id":334545,"date":"2025-12-09T12:39:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/334545\/"},"modified":"2025-12-09T12:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T12:39:10","slug":"iran-objects-to-pride-match-branding-of-world-cup-soccer-game-against-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/334545\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran objects to ‘Pride Match’ branding of World Cup soccer game against Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEHRAN, Iran \u2014 Iran\u2019s soccer chief said Tuesday that Tehran objected to the \u201cirrational\u201d branding of its World Cup match against Egypt, which local organizers in the US have suggested will be held in support of the LGBTQ community.<\/p>\n

The organizing committee in Seattle, Washington, where the match is scheduled to take place next year, had previously announced its intention to hold a \u201cPride Match\u201d coinciding with the northwestern city\u2019s Pride Weekend in late June.<\/p>\n

Following last week\u2019s FIFA tournament draw, Egypt and Iran are now slated to face off in Seattle on June 26, the Friday before Pride Weekend.<\/p>\n

The head of Iran\u2019s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, was quoted by local news agency ISNA as saying that Tehran and Cairo had both raised \u201cobjections against the issue,\u201d which he labeled an \u201cirrational move that supports a certain group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taj did not mention the specific branding of the fixture.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tGet The Times of Israel’s Daily Edition
\n\t\t\tby email and never miss our top stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tBy signing up, you agree to the terms<\/a><\/p>\n

On Monday, Iranian state television said Tehran would \u201cappeal\u201d to FIFA over the matter.<\/p>\n

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran under Islamic law and can be punishable by death.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tPresident of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj speaks during a ceremony in which the new jersey to be used by the Iranian national football team in FIFA 2022 Qatar World Cup was unveiled, at Milad Tower in Tehran, on November 8, 2022. (ATTA KENARE \/ AFP)<\/p>\n

Egypt\u2019s Football Association has voiced similar objections, according to Egyptian local media outlets citing unnamed sources.<\/p>\n

In Egypt, homosexuality is not expressly outlawed, but is often punished under loosely worded laws prohibiting \u201cdebauchery.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 2026 World Cup will mark Iran\u2019s seventh participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n

Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, following a hostage crisis in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n

Iran had initially opted out of Friday\u2019s draw to protest the US refusal to grant visas to several members of its delegation but eventually reversed the decision.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Taj said some Iranian players might face visa problems over their service in the Iranian military, which includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) \u2014 designated a \u201cterrorist organization\u201d by the US in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the World Cup, we must work on having replacement options, and we have already started that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tWatch DocuNation Season 3: The Heart of Israel\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\twhen you join the ToI Community\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

In this season of DocuNation, you can stream five outstanding Israeli documentaries with English subtitles and then join a live online discussion with the filmmakers. The selected films show Israel beyond the conflict: a place of storytellers and musicians, of dreamers, makers, and communities rooted in meaning and trust.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Featured\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

When you watch DocuNation, you\u2019re also supporting Israeli creators at a time when it\u2019s increasingly difficult for them to share their work globally.<\/p>\n

To learn more about DocuNation: The Heart of Israel, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport ToI and get DocuNation\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tSupport ToI and get DocuNation\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\tYou appreciate our journalism\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re really pleased that you\u2019ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month. \n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.<\/p>\n

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.<\/p>\n

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you’ll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing\u00a0exclusive content\u00a0available only to Times of Israel Community members.<\/p>\n

Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel<\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\tJoin Our Community\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\tAlready a member? Sign in to stop seeing this<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEHRAN, Iran \u2014 Iran\u2019s soccer chief said Tuesday that Tehran objected to the \u201cirrational\u201d branding of its World…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334546,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-334545","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-soccer","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334545"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334545\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}