FIFA World Cup: Pitch invader carries rainbow flag onto field during Portugal vs Uruguay

Portugal became the third team after France and Brazil to qualify for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Cristiano Ronaldo-led team beat Uruguay 2-0, courtesy of their star midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Portugal vs Uruguay also witnessed a fan invasion due to which the match was momentarily stopped.

Pitch invader waves pride flag during Portugal vs Uruguay

This was the very first time in the ongoing FIFA World Cup tournament that a fan invasion was witnessed in the middle of the match. The invader ran onto the pitch with a pride flag in hand and a message on the back and front of his blue t-shirt. The front side of the t-shirt read 'Save Ukraine', while the back of the t-shirt read "Respect Iranian women".

Human rights controversy has been the topic of discussion during the Qatar 2022 World Cup and this was the first instance that a fan was able to get into the pitch with a social message. Security officials chased the person down and he dropped the flag on the field before being escorted off the field. 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.

Qatar 2022: All controversies that erupted in middle of the FIFA World Cup 

The first week of the FIFA World Cup 2022 tournament witnessed the skipper of the seven European teams being warned by FIFA over wearing 'OneLove' armbands during the matches. FIFA threatened the captains of sporting sanctions such as yellow cards and match bans for the captains who wore them. Iran players during their match against England had staged a protest over the contentious hijab laws that many believe to be discriminatory against women.

The Iranian players had declined to sing the national anthem. Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests against hijab laws ever since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody for reportedly wearing her headscarf 'inappropriately'. In the latest controversy, Iran wants FIFA to ban the USA for 10 matches for showing a flag without the Islamic republic emblem. The now-deleted graphic of the Group B standings posted on various social media platforms of the US Soccer’s displayed the Iranian flag only bearing its green, white and red colours.