ODD ANDERSEN / AFP
This man with a rainbow flag briefly interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay match at the World Cup in Qatar on November 28, 2022.
WORLD CUP – It is a highly symbolic act in this Qatari World Cup. A man, carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a T-shirt that read ” Save Ukraine ” and ” Respect for Iranian Woman “, entered this Monday, November 28 while running on the lawn of the Lusail stadium in Doha during the meeting of the World Cup 2022 between Portugal and Uruguay.
After crossing the field running for about thirty seconds, Mario Ferri, a regular at this kind of initiative as told our colleagues from Eurosportwas intercepted by security guards and calmly escorted by security out of the Lusail stadium, where the final will be played on December 18.
A celebrity among streakers
The scene was shown only fleetingly on television images, but the photographs of this irruption leave no doubt as to the identity of the streakera real celebrity in the middle.
[ ⚽️ MONDIAL ]
🔸️ Video of the incident in Qatar during the match Portugal – Uruguay. https://t.co/11IbDgpg9P https://t.co/phoS8ISTR8
— (Little) Think Tank (@L_ThinkTank)
In recent years, with both a political aim of denunciation and a search for self-promotion, the 34-year-old Italian has notably disrupted a semi-final of the 2010 World Cup, brought to light the fate of children from the favelas during the World Cup 2014 in Brazil or set in motion an evacuation operation of Ukrainians at the start of the Russian invasion.
MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP
This man with a rainbow flag briefly interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay match at the World Cup in Qatar on November 28, 2022.
PABLO PORCIUNCULA / AFP
The referee with the rainbow flag during the brief interruption of the match Portugal-Uruguay, at the World Cup in Qatar, November 28, 2022.
The organizers of Mondial-2022 are the target of numerous criticisms, in particular on the rights of LGBT+ people. Homosexuality is subject to criminal prosecution in Qatar.
As with most of his appearances on the field, Mario Ferri had a t-shirt stamped with the Superman logo on Monday evening. On the front was an inscription supporting theUkraine (“Save Ukraine”, “Save Ukraine”) and on the back a message asking for respect for Iranian women (“ Respect for Iranian Woman »).
Bracers in the stands
If FIFA assured that flags or clothes in the colors of the rainbow would be accepted in the stadiums, in fact, these were confiscated on several occasions by the security forces.
Seven European selections had said their intention to have their captain wear a rainbow armband” one Love » but finally gave up, Fifa having threatened them with sporting sanctions. UK Sports Minister Stuart Andrew announced that he would wear it this Tuesday during England-Walestwo of the seven selections who waived.
The group of English fans “ 3LionsPride ”, which represents LGBT + supporters, decided before this World Cup that its members would not go to Qatar. “These matches should be a celebration for all the fans, but unfortunately many of them feel that is not the case. It’s not a tournament for them. They felt they couldn’t be a part of it and that’s not acceptable.”regretted Stuart Andrew.
It will not be a first at the World Cup because the German Minister of the Interior, Nancy Faeser, in charge of sports, wore it next to the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, in Germany’s 2-1 loss to Japan last Wednesday. Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib did the same during the victory of the Red Devils against Canada in Qatar (2-1).
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