A fan entered the field of the Lusail stadium and interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay match on Monday with the LGBTIQ+ pride flag and a T-shirt with claims for Ukraine and the women of Iran.
The man – who also wore a blue T-shirt with a Superman logo on the chest and the message “Save Ukraine” below and, on the back, another that said “Respect for Iranian women”, both in English – came to the center circle, until it was intercepted by security.
The flag remained on the ground for a few seconds and it was the referee of the match, the Iranian Alireza Faghani, who raised it and took it to one side of the field, until it was seized by an external collaborator.
This became the first public demonstration in favor of LGBTIQ+ rights to take place during the World Cup in a country that punished same-sex relationships with prison.
In the run-up to the start of Qatar 2022, the rejection of the host country increased when one of the World Cup ambassadors, the former Qatari soccer player Khalid Salman, described homosexuality as “mental damage.”
