LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — A protester ran onto the sphere 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 sphere earlier than the particular person was escorted away. The referee then picked up the flag and left it on the sideline, the place it stayed for a couple of moments earlier than a employee got here and picked up it.The protester was ushered away by means of a tunnel. It wasn’t instantly clear if the particular person confronted any costs or had been detained by police.Thierry De Backer, FIFA’s media officer on the sport, advised The Related Press he had “no concept” what occurred to the protester. Native Qatari organizers wouldn’t remark.Within the first week of the event 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 carry gadgets with rainbow colours, a logo of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.Qatar’s legal guidelines towards homosexual intercourse and therapy of LGBTQ individuals had 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 targeted on the sport that he didn’t actually discover what the protester’s intent was, and that he thought the protester might need needed to take an image with Cristiano Ronaldo, his star teammate.“To be trustworthy I didn’t actually see what was the message that was making an attempt to be conveyed,” Fernandes mentioned by means of a translator. “However we’ve already spoken about that many occasions. … We respect all human rights however these are political points the place we sadly don’t actually have a lot power, the place we are able to’t actually change something.”Earlier than the World Cup began, Fernandes mentioned soccer must be “for everybody,” including that he wasn’t completely happy about staff who died constructing stadiums in Qatar.___
Protester with rainbow flag runs onto subject at World Cup
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