Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said he's focused on football when it comes to the last World Cup group stage match against Iran, which was designated by local organizers as Seattle's Pride Match.
"We are concerned with football on the pitch. We respect, once again, respect and fair play as rules for everyone to abide by and any guidelines set forth by FIFA," he said in a news conference on Thursday.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei had a similar answer when asked whether he had prepared his players for the possibility of rainbow flags in the stands.
"When the game starts, our entire focus is on the field and not on what's happening off it," he said.
Referring to the debate about the Pride Match, he added: "We don't want to talk about that. We just want to talk about football and what a great game it is."
The Pride Fest is taking place this weekend in Seattle. It's a large, colourful festival celebrating the LGBTQI+ community. The event focuses on diversity and equality, and the schedule includes a parade in the city centre and numerous concerts, among other things.
Local organizers decided to designate Friday's game as a Pride Match even before the draw for the group stage. Once the Egypt v Iran match-up was set, discussions quickly ensued.
Both nations don't share the values of Pride Fest and before the tournament, they protested to FIFA against the city's plan to celebrate the game as a Pride Match - to no avail.
"For us, it's all the more an opportunity to welcome people," Hedda McLendon, a member of the local organizing committee, told dpa.
"It goes beyond politics, it goes beyond religion. For us, it's really about our city, and I'm sure that people coming for the World Cup, especially in Seattle, will experience what makes this city unique."
Although FIFA is not participating in the Pride Match with its own initiatives, rainbow flags, other symbols, or even expressions of opinion that Egypt and Iran may not approve of could still be present during the match.
In a statement to The Athletic news portal, FIFA explained that it views this World Cup as an "inclusive event" and added that "rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity are permitted under the Code of Conduct for the 2026 FIFA World Cup stadiums."
Egypt top Group G with four points while Iran are second, two points behind.
Iran's FA has meanwhile also complained about media coverage at the tournament, singling out one not tournament accredited media which it said was anti-Iranian.
A statement said this "pseudo-media business" had been at the team hotel and news conferences, had put protests against the Iran team at the centre while ignoring the support of the team by fans.
"The aim was obviously to convey a distorted and misleading picture of the mood surrounding the Iranian national team," the statement said.
It said that restrictions in connection with official media work and refused visa for media department members had made "correct, direct and first hand" media operations difficult.
