'Our Religion Doesn't Accept...': Iran Captain Mehdi Taremi REACTS After FIFA World Cup 2026 'Pride Match' Against Egypt

Iran captain Mehdi Taremi reacted to questions surrounding the FIFA World Cup 2026 "Pride Match" after Iran's 1-1 draw against Egypt in Seattle. Asked whether the occasion had any impact on his team, Taremi said Iran's focus at the tournament is only on football while also speaking about the Islamic country's religious beliefs and respect for the LGBT community.

The match played in Seattle was promoted as the Pride Game by local organisers with rainbow flags visible in parts of the stadium. Speaking to reporters after the game, Taremi made it clear that the occasion did not affect the team's approach on the field.

Taremi also said that while Islam does not accept homosexuality, the Iranian team respects members of the LGBT community. "Our religion doesn't accept that, but we respect all of the LGBT people. That's the idea. It's not about us, we are here to play football, we respect all of those guys," he said in comments shared by Iran's Fars News Agency. His remarks came after FIFA reportedly declined requests to ban rainbow flags during the fixture.

Qualification Scenario

Iran's campaign in the FIFA World Cup 2026 is not over yet. Although Team Melli ended the Group G stage without a win, drawing all three of their matches was enough to keep their knockout hopes alive. Belgium and Egypt finished in the top two to qualify directly, while Iran must now wait for results from other groups to learn their fate.

The Iranian side will move into the Round of 32 if any one of three results goes their way. They need either a winner in the Algeria vs Austria match, Ghana to beat Croatia or DR Congo to fail to overcome Uzbekistan.

Ramin Rezaeian Reacts To Draw

Ramin Rezaeian reacted to Iran’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Egypt. He sent an emotional message to the Iranian people (translated from Persian) and said, “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know why we have such bad luck—once, twice, three, four, five times. I don’t know what our people have done to deserve this."

He also said, "I hope we can still qualify so they can feel better, they deserve more than this. We fought as hard as we could. It didn’t matter if we had died tonight. We just wanted to make our people happy."

He further stated, "We have been fighting for months. We never asked for anything in return. Every one of these players is honorable. We played for the love of our people. People of Iran, we love you so much. I am sorry, that is all I can say."