A protester ran onto the sector Monday carrying a rainbow flag and carrying a blue Superman T-shirt that mentioned ”SAVE UKRAINE” on the entrance and ”RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN” on the again throughout a World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay.
Safety officers chased the protester down and the flag was dropped on the sector earlier than the individual was escorted away. The referee then picked up the flag and left it on the sideline, the place it stayed for a number of moments earlier than a employee got here and picked up it.
The protester was ushered away by way of a tunnel. It wasn’t instantly clear if the individual confronted any prices or had been detained by police.
Thierry De Backer, FIFA’s media officer on the recreation, informed The Related Press he had “no concept” what occurred to the protester. Native Qatari organizers wouldn’t remark.
Within the first week of the match in Qatar, seven European groups misplaced the battle to put on multi-colored “One Love” armbands throughout World Cup matches. Followers additionally complained they weren’t allowed to deliver gadgets with rainbow colours, a logo of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.
Qatar’s legal guidelines in opposition to homosexual intercourse and therapy of LGBTQ individuals have been flashpoints within the run-up to the primary World Cup to be held within the Center East. Qatar has mentioned everybody was welcome, together with LGBTQ followers, however that guests ought to respect the nation’s tradition.
The incident occurred throughout the second half of the sport at Lusail Stadium.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who scored each targets in his crew’s 2-0 win, mentioned he was so centered on the sport that he did not actually discover what the protester’s intent was, and that he thought the protester may need wished to take an image with Cristiano Ronaldo, his star teammate.
“To be trustworthy I did not actually see what was the message that was making an attempt to be conveyed,” Fernandes mentioned by way of a translator. “However we have already spoken about that many instances. … We respect all human rights however these are political points the place we sadly do not actually have a lot energy, the place we will not actually change something.” Earlier than the World Cup began, Fernandes mentioned soccer ought to be “for everybody,” including that he wasn’t completely satisfied about employees who died constructing stadiums in Qatar.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse workers and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
