LGBTQ+ festivities organised around match in SeattleIran coach says he and his team are focused on footballIran 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 per mit 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”.Both Iran and Egypt lodged complaints to Fifa about the LGBTQ+ events staged around the game and requested for them to be cancelled. In Iran, LGBTQ+ relationships are illegal, and Egypt has a history of prosecuting queer and trans people. Iran’s pre-match press conference began with a statement from their federation requesting all questions were in relation to the team, tactics and the match. Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, said he did not wish to speak about “anything that is banned in our league”. Continue reading... ...read more read less