The match between Portugal and Uruguay that closed the ninth day in the World Cup in Qatar had an unexpected guest. A spontaneous man managed to circumvent all the security measures and jumped onto the pitch of the Lusail stadium with a rainbow flag to claim the rights of the LGTBQ collective.
The fan, who interrupted the match for a few moments, also wore two protest messages on his Superman shirt. On the front he called for "save Ukraine", while on the back he demanded "respect for Iranian women". An image that will go around the world and that will go down in history, even though it was an image that the organization wanted to avoid at all costs.
The events occurred at the start of the second half, specifically in the 51st minute, moments before Bruno Fernandes scored the goal that gave the Portuguese an advantage (they beat the Uruguayan team 2-0). The flag fell off during his run, as he was pursued by Qatari security forces and police, who finally managed to tackle the individual when he stopped to display the pro-Ukrainian message.
The main referee of the night match, the Iranian Alireza Faghani, picked up the flag from the ground. Once he was removed from the field of play by the agents, the ball rolled again.
The LGTBQ flag has been a source of controversy at the World Cup held in the emirate. FIFA's decision to punish the captains of the teams who wore a bracelet with the One Love motto to defend a persecuted group in Qatar outraged some of the affected countries, such as Germany or Denmark. In fact, the Germans protested that decision by putting their hand to their mouth in the photo prior to their debut in the tournament.
