FIFA said fans will be allowed to bring rainbow flags to Egypt’s World Cup group match against Iran in Seattle on Friday, while barring Iran’s pre-revolutionary “Lion and Sun” flag from World Cup venues on the grounds that political symbols are prohibited.
The game coincides with Seattle’s Pride weekend after December’s draw placed the two Muslim-majority nations in the same fixture. Egypt and Iran had objected, saying such events clashed with cultural and religious values.
Both countries impose severe penalties on LGBTQ+ people.
Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code consensual same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized and punished by penalties ranging from flogging to the death penalty.
A spokesperson for Iran's football federation told The Athletic that the Iranian federation has relayed to FIFA that it does not wish to see symbols or representations of the “movement” within the stadium, referring to the LGBTQ+ community.
FIFA, however, told the outlet it considers this World Cup to be an “inclusive event” and added that “rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026 Stadium Code of Conduct.”
FIFA said Seattle’s Pride events are locally organized and not an official “Pride Match.”
The decision contrasts with FIFA’s ban on Iran’s pre-revolutionary “Lion and Sun” flag at World Cup venues, with the governing body saying its rules prohibit political symbols.
Earlier this month, a Los Angeles judge upheld FIFA's ban on the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag following an emergency hearing held hours before Iran's opening match against New Zealand.
The lawsuit, filed by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and Sam Kermanian, an Iran fan intending to go to the game, challenged FIFA's prohibition on the lion-and-sun flag associated with Iran's pre-1979 monarchy.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Curtis A. Kin denied the request to block the ban.
"Free speech is incredibly important, it is sacred, a bedrock of our society, but it is not without limitation, such as private actor, on private property, and as shown by previous cases, regulating in reasonable way. I deny the application," Kin said, according to The Athletic.
The report said that FIFA has deemed the flag political in nature under its stadium code of conduct, which prohibits political, offensive or discriminatory materials at World Cup venues.
