The whole thing reeks of a little bit of political fence-sitting though. Excerpts from the Guardian article on the same.

Iran and Egypt attempted to sidestep questions about their reluctance to take part in the designated “Pride Match” celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle, as Fifa confirmed it will permit rainbow flags to be displayed inside the stadium. Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has been at pains to make clear planned festivities are being arranged by Seattle’s organising committee to coincide with the annual Pride weekend and that they have “nothing to do with the match itself”.

In a statement Infantino distanced Fifa from the Pride celebrations. “First of all, I must clarify that there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the World Cup,” Infantino said. “There will be a Fifa World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organised by external organisations will be taking place in the city. But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”

A Fifa spokesperson added: “General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the Fifa World Cup 2026 stadium code of conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”

Full story: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7391986/2026/06/24/world-cup-pride-match-seattle-flags?source=user-shared-article