Officials in Egypt and Iran are protesting the scheduling of a FIFA World Cup match between the two teams next June in Seattle, where local organizers had planned Pride festivities around the match.

Both Middle Eastern countries are culturally conservative. In Iran, same-sex sexual activity can be punishable by death, and other expressions of gender and sexuality may be punished by imprisonment or flogging. In Egypt, morality laws allow for the de facto criminalization of same-sex relationships, and human rights groups report arrests and police harassment of suspected gay people.

In a statement released Tuesday, the Egyptian Football Association said it "categorically rejects the holding of any activities related to supporting homosexuality" during the June 26 match. The association

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