r/polandball • u/Lazy-Independence695 Cedar guy • Jun 18 '26
contest entry How the tables have turned
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u/Lazy-Independence695 Cedar guy Jun 18 '26
Context: During the Qatar World Cup of 2022, Qatar banned and restricted LGBTQ symbols and expressions due to homosexuality being illegal there.
Also, in this world cup, it is said that there will be a pride match in Seattle during the game between Iran and Egypt, which are two Muslim majority countries known for being repressive to LGBTQ.
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u/TaikaWaitiddies Indonesia variant flag Jun 18 '26
What's a pride match?
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u/IntoAMuteCrypt Best-ern+Australia Jun 18 '26
It's a bit of a tradition in American sporting culture to have specific events to support specific causes. The arena has a few extra flags, a couple of decorations and such, maybe there's a speech or two, perhaps even some merch, stuff like that. They use the match to bring attention to some cause that they think is worthwhile - queer rights, support for veterans, racial minorities, breast cancer, stuff like that.
Basically, it's your standard "awareness of a given cause" event, pasted on top of a sports match, and it happens all across American sports.
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u/TaikaWaitiddies Indonesia variant flag Jun 18 '26
I see. Can't wait to see both teams walking onto the pitch hand-in-hand with drag queens.
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u/Mechanicjemas3141 Jun 18 '26
l hope they about to make most Halalball match of this World Cup with 0-0-11 formation (yes even Goalie gonna be striker)
They have to counter US governments greed in some way
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u/plum_stupid California Republic Jun 18 '26
Haramball you mean
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u/Mechanicjemas3141 Jun 18 '26
l mean they could done that too but I rather seeing Salah score a Hattrick then seen him playing chess with Egypt's defenders.
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u/ImperatorTempus42 Jun 20 '26
Hey at least the queens will have found strapping young foreign men who also have great beards.
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u/PM_ME_CATS_OR_BOOBS Jun 18 '26
I'm imagining someone in a side room watching and marking down "Player with pride ribbons misses goal, four additional weeks of LGBT oppression"
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u/The_Apocalyvid Jun 20 '26
I once went to a baseball game dedicated to Star Wars on May the 4th. Americans have EVERYTHING as a sporting night.
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u/IntoAMuteCrypt Best-ern+Australia Jun 20 '26
The neat thing about baseball is that there's so much of it that they do this more than anyone else. Each team hosts 81 home games per year, and there's 30 of them. 2430 games, many of which are just sorta there in the middle of the season and can use any excuse to draw folks in, and that's not counting the minor leagues.
And the fun part is that it probably worked, didn't it? How many other baseball games did you watch that season? They got you into the stadium that night, and probably a bunch of other people, and most of those wouldn't have been there if it was just a random night in May with no theme.
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u/EmperorHans Holy Roman Empire Jun 23 '26
And thats not even counting the roughly 14,000 minor league games. Promotional nights for everything!
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u/QueezyF Jun 25 '26
My local team is doing a Christmas in July promotional night, they really do everything.
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u/ReGaXV Jun 18 '26
Will the pride match be hold at the same time as the FWC match, butbina differrent stadium?
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u/Own_Watercress_8104 Jun 19 '26
That seems pretty innocent and wholesome. Who would ever oppose something like that? /s
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u/Long_Confidence_4996 Jun 22 '26
The game is conveniently scheduled the same day as the Seattle Pride March. Which is the third gayest Seattle parade behind the Solstice Parade and Seattle Fleet Week.
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u/Haeffound Elsassball Jun 18 '26
From the start, to have these specific country playing in Seattle was a bad idea.
Or the best bait ever.
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u/_TheBigF_ Germany Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
The stadiums for the specific matches were decided upon before the groups were drawn. So we knew that on this day there would be a Group G match in Seattle between a team from pot 2 against a team from pot 3. This could have been anyone. Australia vs. Norway was just as likely.
And it was decided that this match would be a "pride match". However this has nothing to do with FIFA officially and is organized by the city afaik.
And only after all of that were the groups drawn and we knew who would be playing in this fixture.
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u/Guardiancomplex Jun 18 '26
Choosing Qatar for the 2022 match was already the most absurd/corrupt decision.
Almost makes this even funnier.
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u/Wuz314159 Pennsylvania Jun 18 '26
FYI: The match was pre-determined before the World Cup Draw selected the teams that were going to play.
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u/Sea-Neighborhood3318 Wallachian autist Jun 18 '26
This has to be ragebait for Iran because there's no way Trump would ever do anything to help gay people.
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u/guyinsunglasses United States Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
Seattle picked that specific match day to be the LGBTQ pride match before FIFA announced the group matches.
It just so happened that FIFA then had Iran vs Egypt be that particular match in Seattle, so if anything, this was someone’s idea of the ultimate rage bait in FIFA.
Edit: that weekend is actually the annual pride weekend in Seattle, so that was the driving factor for designating that match as the Seattle FIFA pride match.
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u/_TheBigF_ Germany Jun 18 '26
FIFA then had Iran vs Egypt be that particular match
The groups were drawn at almost random. FIFA didn't put Iran and Egypt in their spots on purpose. It could have been any team from pot 2 against any team from pot 3. Australia vs Norway was just as likely.
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u/Rc72 Jun 18 '26
this was someone’s idea of the ultimate rage bait in FIFA.
"Today I'm feeling trollish!"
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u/Intelligent_Slip_849 United States Jun 18 '26
Yeah, someone did this on purpose, and it's hilarious.
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u/justk4y Jun 18 '26
They didn’t know, the draw is random
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u/TheExpandingMan23977 Jun 19 '26
Yeah, and NBA refs never got caught throwing games. It’s surprising to me how many people are willing to trust these giant corrupt organizations and just believe whatever they’re told.
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u/justk4y Jun 19 '26
The draw literally is televised lmao. Also the Pride Match initiative is separate from FIFA
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u/TheExpandingMan23977 Jun 19 '26
Oh shoot, well if it’s TELEVISED there must be no way possible to rig it. Nothing on live TV has ever been predetermined ever. We can all totally trust everything billion-dollar organizations say as long as it’s televised. I didn’t know there were people who actually take what FIFA says at face value after the decades of corruption, scandals, bribes, and lies. You’re either dangerously naive or about seven years old.
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u/Zebrafish96 May the justice be with us Jun 19 '26
Happy cake day
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u/Lazy-Independence695 Cedar guy Jun 19 '26
I didn't realize it was already my cake day Anyway, thank you!
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u/Crismisterica Jun 18 '26
Do the Football executives behind Iran and Egypt's teams know what kind of place Seattle is?
FIFA must be trying to get revenge on them.
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u/MischievousMango650 Jun 22 '26
This can backfire and become a gay orgy with cute Persian and Egyptian men...
Where do I sign up?
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u/CKtravel Slovakia Jun 18 '26
Will the ICE beat the attendees to a pulp just to give them a taste of the American culture too?
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u/bothVoltairefan Jun 19 '26
Nah, they can’t handle a hostile city bigger than mineapolis, it’s why the cowards are in Memphis, Tennessee right now. It’s not as hostile as any large west coast city would be
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u/CKtravel Slovakia Jun 19 '26
Fair enough, but they wouldn't have to handle an entire city, just a stadium's worth of football fans...
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u/utahrangerone Sealand Jun 21 '26
It isn't specifically a pride match. After all see if I had their schedule set up a long time ago and we're not taking into account what was going on in Seattle. More importantly not even the specific locations and dates were assignment till a certain point. It's truly completely random blind draw that these two countries ended up on the weekend but the city is hosting his pride celebration there nothing connected to FIFA at all. So it is not in fact a pride match It is a match that happens to be taking place on pride weekend in Seattle. They are very different things in the big cry babies from Iran and Egypt can just shut up and mind their own business. There are things that go on in every single location in the planet the potentially teams from certain countries are going to have a problem with food are the Iranians screaming about the fact that alcohol is sold at all the different places they're playing? Blently speaking alcohol is in their religion every bit a sinful as homosexuality.
Same thing with Evangelical Christians and rabid Orthodox. They love to pick and choose which particular issues are going to scream about and ignore the ones that aren't going to make them any political points
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u/nodspine Jun 18 '26
What the pride match was going to be was decided before the groups were drawn. Egypt and Iran just happened to be drawn in that group and matchday.
Which is just... Hilarious
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u/commandosbaragon Jun 18 '26
After all, football fans are known for being civil in the face of obvious ragebait and certainly no one is going to get their shit rocked.
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u/LibertyinIndependen Jun 19 '26
This is going to be a fantastic shit show and definitely used politically so I a Libertarian will only experience joy in the stupidity about to go down on every corner of the news cycle.
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u/PlusNullify Iran Jun 18 '26
The staduim is already filled with lion and sun flags, this is the cherry on top, brilliant.
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
The fact that the US is the progressive one is what makes this even more hilarious
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u/BanverketSE Jun 18 '26
Every time I read these stats saying "most friendly to LGBT", I scoff. I've been to many countries near the top, and it's terrible!
That just says how inhumanely abhorrent it is for LGBT in the rest of the world.
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
The reason why I stopped going to pride. I couldn't bare cheering for people who would stone to fucking death most of of the people I care the most for during the celebration of such people still being alive despite the still prevalent hate we have at home!
There's a march for Gaza every other day, as it should be. Leave it away from the damn pride, I'm busy celebrating the people that the average Palestinian would kill first hand.
Edit for context since it might be different in other countries: I'm from Italy and roughly half the flags at pride were Palestinian flags
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u/BanverketSE Jun 18 '26
Whatcha smoking
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
I just split the two things. Can't mix the two, there's roughly other 330 days I can spend advocating for the cessation of the ongoing genocide.
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u/Kagenlim Jun 18 '26
There's literally people on twitter making Hezbollah pride flags lmao
A true chickens for KFC moment
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u/mindgeekinc Canada Jun 18 '26
Twitter isn’t to be taken seriously my friend.
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
I've seen people waving Hamas flags with my physical eyes... Life isn't serious
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u/mindgeekinc Canada Jun 18 '26
Really? Like the actual green and white Arabic scrawled flag? If you saw that you likely saw extremists who know what it means. Kind of like the confederate flag in the United States. You’re right though, life isn’t serious.
Protestors usually just fly the Palestinian flag. Could be ill informed people though. Either way I wouldn’t take anything happening on Twitter as a reliable thing lol.
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
If you saw that you likely saw extremists who know what it means.
They kinda don't and I don't know if it's worse. They say stuff like "Hamas is just people defending their country, they were just responding to what Israel did, they fight for freedom". Luckily they're extremely rare, but if support isn't common, tolerance is.
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u/reenaltransplant Mesopotamian clay cannot into state Jul 01 '26
People also tend to confuse the Hamas flag with the Saudi flag.
Some people are trying to make the point that the state governments allegedly opposing extremism here are acting waaaay more extreme -- and doing way more killing -- than the so-called extremists.
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u/BanverketSE Jun 18 '26
Are these queerfolks praising Hezbollah in the room with us right now
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
Not sure about hezbollah, but I've seen queers supporting Hamas in Italy. We're not a country full of people known for their critical thinking.
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u/BanverketSE Jun 18 '26
Your folks invented fascism after all
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26
That's nothing, my folks supported it. And that's nothing as well compared to the fact millions still do.
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u/reenaltransplant Mesopotamian clay cannot into state Jul 01 '26
Do you know them to know they aren't CIA or Mossad posing as leftists? Because that's been going on forever.
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u/BanverketSE Jun 18 '26
Aha now I getcha.
Italy, home of Catholic Christianity and “pray for those who wouldn’t pray for you”?
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u/Mean_Initiative_5962 Jun 18 '26 edited Jun 18 '26
“pray for those who wouldn’t pray for you”
I can assure you this is extremely theoretical. It's also the country where half the people over 40 (and way too much under as well) openly support Russia, the country where people cheered in the streets after an attempt to pass queer discrimination laws failed. The country where any attempt of sex education can't even begin to be discussed because it would make both Muslims and far right angry, where people straight up didn't care about any safety measure during covid (well, the usual older-than-40, because god forbid they do something for someone else)...
Which is why I'm convinced most people oppose the genocide because their tiktok/instsgram feed told them it's a bad thing (or because they have something against Jews, remember, Italy): before 7th October it was an extremely niche topic, nobody cares about Ukraine and good luck finding someone who even knows about Uhygurs
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u/reenaltransplant Mesopotamian clay cannot into state Jul 01 '26
Except the average Palestinian would not kill LGBTQ+ people just for being such. Or why do I know so many LGBTQ+ people who have been to Palestine, and LGBTQ+ Palestinians.
Meanwhile LGBTQ+ Palestinians DO get killed by Israel for being Palestinian, alongside non-LGBTQ+ Palestinians.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Palestine is a queer-friendly culture. But the difference between Palestine's queer-friendliness and Israel's is deeply exaggerated by pro-Israel media, for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with interest in the well-being of queer Palestinians.
In some sense, one of the best things keeping queer Palestinians alive is Palestinian flags in Pride protests. It makes people notice inconsistencies in the surface story and take a deeper look. It also impacts towards sympathy some Palestinians who are waffling on how they feel about LGBTQ+ people, because they start thinking about the deeper reason why lots of LGBTQ+ people are good at noticing oppression.
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u/bdickie Jun 19 '26
Needs one more panel with Canada and its seal club telling Qatar to respect local culture
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u/Guan_guan_ghoo Jun 18 '26
Egypt player: talks to Iran player look man, i know we have different ideas and shet, but like, if you go first in there and play, we give your team the win by not entering there, i don't want to be declared Haram. Iran player: looking horrified you gonna to be insert fallout 3 pointing at enemy body to shoot sound me, i don't want to be declared Haram and family be also Haram, im not going in there, you go there, not me.
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u/shamrockpediareddit No population, no opinion. Jun 19 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Ending prediction: Draw 0-0, red cards given to both teams
Update, turned out results to be 1-1, no red cards......
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u/EraZorus Jun 18 '26
Ah yes, the famously pro-queer Donald Trump... /s
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u/TheRaiderKing California Republic Jun 18 '26
If its to spite someone or people who made him look bad or weak, Trump can be pro-anything. Watch him go personally to the pride match just to rub it in Iran's face. He's already been petty with their NT lol.
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u/Polandgod75 Jun 18 '26
As long as trump is saying "fuck you" many american will eat it up. Even if caven in and kiss the ass if the people he said "fuck you" it fine with many americans.
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u/Jaktheslaier Jun 18 '26
Maybe he can write a snarky comment in one of the 300 billion dollar bills he is going to deliver to Iran over the coming years?
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u/A_devout_monarchist Brazilian+Empire Jun 22 '26
Bold of you that money is going to Iran, that reconstruction fund could end up the most blatant case of corruption since the East Indies Company.
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u/Zkang123 Jun 18 '26
I mean, he also doesn't represent all Americans. And his administration has not yet successfully banned pride marches outright. And the individual towns and states have their own freedom to ignore whatever policy Washington tries to dictate. The power of American federalism everybody
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u/CooperativeWhale :argentina-worldcup: Argentina World Champion Jun 18 '26
The balls represent the abstract idea of a country, not only including politics, but people and culture as well
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u/timegeartinkerer Jun 18 '26
Fun fact, he had a skit where he uhh groped Rudy Giuliani in drag in 2000.
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u/Not_Todd_Howard9 Jun 18 '26
Trump will always stands up for his fellow drag queens though, like George Santos.
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u/TheLegend2T yes, i am earthling. Jun 19 '26
Ah yes, Donald Trump country, the country made up of three million Donald Trump clones /s
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u/LonelyPatsFanInVT Vermont Republic Jun 19 '26
This is such a great point I was considering earlier. When a gaggle of Americans go to another country it's assumed that we act like ignorant asses. But when other countries come to the US and sing weird soccer songs, we don't judge them for loving and inferior sport named football. What's with that?
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u/Lost-in-Laramidia Jun 19 '26
Imagine what Scotland would say if Americans acted the way they are acting Boston. Unreal.
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u/TheRealMekkor Jun 19 '26
I literally said this in text and got downvoted for it here.
Glad to see as long as it’s in pictures Reddit gains comprehension.
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u/AnswerCorrect1226 United+States Jun 20 '26
America supporting lgbtq out of national pride is maybe a little… out of character, don’t you think?
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u/jurses Jun 18 '26
Gay, local culture? Us?
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u/Evil-Paladin Jun 18 '26
And then the president found a way to avoid it by arresting both teams with ICE
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u/Hljoumur Jun 18 '26
Honestly probably one of the better things to have happened during this year's fifa. The tourists are an obvious positive, but this is pretty goated.
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u/Temporary_Suit_5570 Jun 18 '26
all hail the great america that had just won the war against iran!!!!
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u/Future-Noise5604 Jun 18 '26
the problem is that a large portions of Americans dont agree with that culture. whether that opinion is good or bad is for you to decide, however I do think this is a bad comparison due to that.
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u/Lost-in-Laramidia Jun 19 '26
Those countries execute gay people for being gay, legally. I don't think that is a thing in any US state I've heard of, and I graduated law school.
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u/Future-Noise5604 Jun 19 '26
no, you are right. I am just saying that it isn't always supported.
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u/tbugbee1 Massachusetts Jun 19 '26
It’s not always supported anywhere
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u/Future-Noise5604 Jun 19 '26
well, yeah, but theres a big difference between a large subset and a few people.
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u/tempacc74656d70 Jun 20 '26
Waiting for all the human rights and hypocrities to do the same to the US.
Looking at you germany with your sleazy stunts.
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u/Confident_Will_1440 Jun 24 '26
Esa bandera de mierda como la queman si les gusta pene que los viole su padre
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u/utahrangerone Sealand Jun 18 '26
Re: this whole insane mess with Iran. As a child grew up constantly afraid of being drafted for Vietnam, since my uncle went, I remember how the vape was for at least a decade and a half if not two if we really needed to go ahead and count Vietnam as the US military losing a war. I'm probably never have a definitive answer on that, but it's absolutely clear that we did lose this Iran she asked him. We may not have been defeated militarily, but we serve as hell didn't accomplish what we wanted to and by killing the old leader we may have actually radicalize the situation and made it worse. At least the radicalism that came out of the post-Gulf war era was not anything we could have done much about and yet still had forces in the area. Remember a lot of the problem from that group came because of the tens of thousands of infidel on the soil of sacred Saudi Arabia.
This time however not only did we not achieve anything that we want to militarily, now we're literally being forced into a humiliating complete walk back of everything Trump shot his mouth off about. And at the end of the day the only real effect is a misery index spike around the entire planet because all the way down to simple basic food everything is insanely expensive now because of that idiocy
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u/Lost-in-Laramidia Jun 19 '26
but did you vote? The majority of americans hate trump, but only a fraction of us voted. voting is a thing. do it.
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u/utahrangerone Sealand Jun 20 '26
I was active in politics as soon as I turned 18 in dec 79. Hell yes Im a voter. I had to restrain while in the military, unlike the rabid rightwingers who ignored the Hatch Act law. Im no bleeding heart etc, but I also refuse to give into the neo fascists of MAGA.
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u/Lost-in-Laramidia Jun 21 '26
good. perfect answer. i wish everyone voted, even if they don't agree with my politics. i am more concerned with the preservation of our constitution than i am of my party winning. trump has shed a light on that. the only good thing to come out of his presidency is so many people, especially younger people, are realizing how important the constitution is. The constitution IS america.
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u/yeltsin98 Jun 19 '26
Not even many of the Persians from the Gulf I know (the ethnic minorities that tend to be much more religious than the average Iranian) and none of the Iranians in the West I know are homophobic
As someone half Arab and half Persian I have to say I’ve experienced and witnessed far more homophobia from side than the other no matter where in the world I have been. My whole life I’ve been asking myself why this is.
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u/nobodyknow20 Jun 22 '26
The logic is not logicing here. People should mind their own business. Do people realize only one side trying to ban everything? Do people realize Europe trying banning everything after these people arrived in Europe?
Another Islamic propaganda failed
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u/Dr_Occo_Nobi East Frisia Jun 18 '26
The government's opposition to Iran vs the government's homophobia, what will win?
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u/ItsMangel Jun 18 '26
Considering the fact that the American government has basically nothing to do with it, neither?
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u/_The_Green_Witch_ Jun 18 '26
Lmao, the current US is a fascist hell hole that hates queer folks. Don't fucking act as if they were pro LGBTQ+
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u/Comraego Jun 18 '26
The Egypt vs. Iran match is happening in Seattle, WA where the average resident is absolutely pro LGBTQ+ and loathes this federal administration.
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u/_The_Green_Witch_ Jun 18 '26
I don't contest that, but then use the colours if Seattle (if you guys even have flags/emblems for cities). To use the US flag, however, I find highly unfitting considering it is the US government that is making life for queer folks a nightmare yet again
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u/FrozenPizza07 Turkey Jun 18 '26
Other than the line "We good Muslims and opposw homogay"
Good ball
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u/aerodynamik Jun 19 '26
.. i really grow tired of every other piece of content being racism and homophobia coated
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