Double Standards on Display: Iran and Egypt Reject Pride While Expecting Cultural Deference

How demands for respect abroad clash with refusal to honor local values at home

FIFA had set June 26 as a Pride celebration day for Seattle’s match well before team assignments or schedules were finalized. It wasn’t about targeting Iran versus Egypt—it aligned naturally with June’s Pride Month and Seattle’s ongoing cultural calendar.

When the World Cup was hosted in Qatar, restrictions were imposed on LGBTQ+ symbols, justified under the notion of respecting local culture. Yet now, Iran and Egypt refuse to participate when Pride is celebrated in the U.S.—essentially demanding the suppression of the host nation’s values. This double standard is glaring.

Sporting events, whether the World Cup or the Olympics, are meant to foster global unity. By rejecting this event, Iran and Egypt marginalize others and undermine the spirit of inclusion. Their stance is not just a cultural disagreement; it infringes on basic human rights and freedoms.

Western nations playing in Middle Eastern countries don’t demand changes to local customs. No one insists on altering traditions such as dress codes or prayers. The claim that Pride is political is a misrepresentation—being who you are isn’t politics. It’s a fundamental human right to celebrate one’s identity.

This stance by Iran and Egypt risks damaging their own reputations. Iran, in particular, has garnered some sympathy on the global stage due to its challenges, yet actions like these undo such goodwill. It’s poor optics, and it undermines the broader message of unity that international sports should convey.

Ultimately, this isn’t about imposing beliefs. It’s about respecting the host country’s culture—just as others expect theirs to be respected. In this case, the ask is simple: let people celebrate who they are, just as we respect traditions when we visit their nations.

Vic Gerami

A noted columnist, Vic Gerami is also a journalist and media contributor who is also publisher and editor of The Blunt Post. His show, 'The Blunt Post with Vic' on Public Radio KPFK 90.7 FM, part of Pacifica Network, launched in 2018. Today reaching national international audiences, Gerami first built a foundation of knowledge and skills by learning the media industry during his years at Frontiers Magazine, followed by positions at LA Weekly and Voice Media Group. For the second time, Gerami was selected as a finalist in the Los Angeles Press Club’s National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards “Columnist of the Year” category in 2019, having first made the final round of consideration in 2017. His celebrity Q&A column, '10 Questions with Vic', is syndicated internationally. The Wall Street Journal featured Gerami as a “leading gay activist” in its landmark 2008 coverage of opposition to Proposition 8, the ballot measure that for years denied same-sex couples in California the freedom to marry. In addition to his years of volunteer work as a leading advocate for marriage equality, later Gerami went on to serve as a Planning Committee member for the historic Resist March in 2017. Vic Gerami is also a founding board member of Equality Armenia. In 2015, Gerami was referenced in the landmark Supreme Court civil rights case, Obergefell v. Hodges, in which the Court held in a 5–4 decision that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process and the Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Vic Gerami is a contributor to the LGBTQ San Diego County News, Windy City Times, Montrose Star, DC Life Magazine, Out & About Nashville, Q Virginia, GNI MAG, QNotes, GoWeHo, Asbarez, California Courier, Desert Daily Guide, Armenian Weekly, GED, The Pride LA, IN Magazine, OUT Traveler, The Fight and The Advocate Magazine among others.

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