FIFA Says Rainbow Flags Can Fly in Seattle Stadium Despite Objections From Iran, Eqypt

Under FIFA’s World Cup stadium policy, it is prohibited for fans to bring in certain controversial political items.

Marchers fly a giant rainbow flag during the annual Seattle Pride Parade in Seattle, Wash., on June 25, 2023. Lindsey Wasson/AP

Rainbow flags will be allowed inside the stadium in Seattle, where the FIFA World Cup group game between Iran and Egypt is being held on June 26, despite both countries objecting to the standards associated with the LGBT community.

Both countries are predominantly Muslim, and homosexuality is illegal in Iran and criminalized in Egypt, but Hana Tadesse, a spokesperson for Seattle’s World Cup organizing committee, said on June 24 that FIFA considers the rainbow flag a statement of human rights and will allow fans to wave it inside Lumen Field.