“We definitely want to prevent this”
Iran plans boycott over World Cup duel
December 25, 2025 – 2:45 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The LGBTQ+ community will be the focus of the World Cup duel between Iran and Egypt. Unthinkable for Tehran as the game falls in an Islamic month of mourning.
Iran wants to boycott the “Pride Match” during the World Cup in the USA. “We have no interest in our third World Cup game being played under the banner of the rainbow colors. We absolutely want to prevent that and will do so,” said Iran’s association president Mehdi Taj, as the daily newspaper “Hammihan” reported.
The 65-year-old explained that the preliminary round game against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle clashes with the Islamic month of mourning “Muharram”, the holy day of remembrance in Iran for the third Shiite Imam Hussein. Under these circumstances, such an event is unthinkable, said the association president.
In Islamic Iran, homosexuality is considered a sin and can be punished with severe penalties, including the death penalty. Tehran, the capital of Iran, sees the World Cup organizers’ plans to host the games on the last weekend of June 2026 under the banner of the LGBTQ+ community as an insult to Islamic values and sacredness.
Egypt’s football association has already protested against the “Pride Match” with a letter to FIFA. In Egypt there are also criminal offenses “to protect morals or religion” under which homosexuality can be punished. The World Cup organizers have already announced that they want to stick to the plans.
The democratic-liberal US city of Seattle celebrates the LGBTQ+ community on the last weekend of June 2026. The English abbreviation LGBTQ+ stands for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans people, queer and intersex people. The plus sign and the asterisk are placeholders for other identities and genders.