LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) 鈥 A protester ran onto the field Monday carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a blue Superman T-shirt that said 鈥淪AVE UKRAINE鈥 on the front and 鈥淩ESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMAN鈥 on the back during a World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay.
Security officials chased the protester down and the flag was dropped on the field before the person was escorted away. The referee then picked up the flag and left it on the sideline, where it stayed for a few moments before a worker came and collected it.
The protester was ushered away through a tunnel. It wasn鈥檛 immediately clear if the person faced any charges or had been detained by police.
Thierry De Backer, FIFA鈥檚 media officer at the game, told The Associated Press he had 鈥渘o idea鈥 what happened to the protester. Local Qatari organizers would not comment.
In the first week of the tournament in Qatar, seven European teams lost the battle to wear multi-colored 鈥淥ne Love鈥 armbands during World Cup matches. Fans also complained they weren鈥檛 allowed to bring items with , a symbol of LGBTQ rights, into the stadiums of the conservative Islamic emirate.
Qatar鈥檚 laws against gay sex and treatment of LGBTQ people were flashpoints in the run-up to the first World Cup to be held in the Middle East. Qatar has said everyone was welcome, including LGBTQ fans, but that visitors should respect the nation鈥檚 culture.
The incident occurred during the second half of the game at Lusail Stadium.
Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who scored both goals in his team鈥檚 , said he was so focused on the game that he didn鈥檛 really notice what the protester鈥檚 intent was, and that he thought the protester might have wanted to take a picture with Cristiano Ronaldo, his star teammate.
鈥淭o be honest I didn鈥檛 really see what was the message that was trying to be conveyed,鈥 Fernandes said through a translator. 鈥淏ut we鈥檝e already spoken about that many times. ... We respect all human rights but those are political issues where we unfortunately don鈥檛 really have much strength, where we can鈥檛 really change anything.鈥
Before the World Cup started, Fernandes said soccer should be 鈥渇or everyone,鈥 adding that he wasn鈥檛 happy about workers who died building stadiums in Qatar.
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