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Speedster with a rainbow flag playing in Lusail
Photo: Tom Weller / dpa
A speedster with a rainbow flag briefly caused a stir at the Portugal-Uruguay match.
The man ran onto the field during the preliminary round of the World Cup in Qatar.
He was stopped by two stewards in the 51st minute of the game and led out from inside Lusail Stadium.
Fifa's world directors did not show any pictures of this, but live television showed how referee Alireza Faghani from Iran lifted the flag, which had apparently been snatched from stewards.
The speedster combined several political messages with just one action.
His Superman T-shirt read "Save Ukraine" on the front and "Respect for Iranian Woman" on the back.
The man may have specifically chosen this game because the referee comes from Iran, where the regime has been trying to suppress a massive protest movement for weeks.
"I hope nothing happens to the boy," said Portugal player Rúben Neves after the game.
»We all got his message, the whole world.«
The rainbow is the symbol for the LGBT community.
LGBT is the English abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
Each letter represents one's gender identity or sexual orientation.
Homosexuality is forbidden in the World Cup host country Qatar and is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
In the course of the tournament, the security of the LGBT community in Qatar will therefore be discussed worldwide.
Dealing with the topic overshadowed the World Cup even before the first game and also during the tournament.
Several European teams initially wanted to wear a rainbow-colored captain's armband in Qatar.
However, in September they decided to wear a napkin with the "One Love" symbol, which features a heart in bright colors.
Even before the first games, however, all teams under pressure from the world association Fifa backed down and refrained from this form of protest.
Fifa threatened the captains with a yellow card.
kfr/dpa