The protester who stormed the pitch during Portugal's win over Uruguay has broken his silence with a statement on social media.
Mario Ferri ran on and stopped the game minutes before Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring in the Group H clash. Ferri was carrying an LGBT+ Pride flag which he then threw onto the pitch in front of referee Alireza Faghani.
He was also wearing a blue T-shirt which read "Respect for Iranian Women" on the back and "Save Ukraine " on the front. His first message of carrying the Pride flag relates to Qatar's persecution of the LGBT+ community, amid rainbow symbols being confiscated from fans by the country's security forces.
