Seattle thrust into World Cup travel dispute
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A brief soccer brouhaha erupted this week over how much time Iran and Egypt could spend in Seattle ahead of their Friday faceoff, though both teams have now been granted extra time in the city.
Why it matters: The back-and-forth briefly put Seattle at the center of a World Cup travel controversy, with both teams publicly arguing that tournament travel arrangements created an unfair competitive burden, KING 5 reported.
Driving the news: Iran's national team was approved to arrive in Seattle two days before Friday's match, giving the team an extra day in the city, just one day after officials denied a similar request from Egypt's national team.
Go deeper: Iran — which has its training base in Tijuana, Mexico — had been considering a complaint to FIFA over what it called unfair treatment, including a travel schedule that forced it to fly in and out of the U.S. for each game, per KING.
- Egypt said it had been seeking to minimize travel for players.
- FIFA originally old KING 5 that Egypt's request fell through because officials were unable to finalize a security plan in time.
- But the decision was reversed by Tuesday, with Egypt being granted permission to arrive in Seattle on Wednesday, KIRO 7 reported.
Flashback: This isn't the first controversy surrounding the Egypt-Iran match.
- Last year, officials from both countries objected after Seattle organizers designated the upcoming game as the city's Pride Match.
What we're watching: Whether 90 minutes of action on the pitch will eclipse the controversy around the match.