A Brazilian journalist covering the World Cup said he was harassed by police in Qatar for carrying a regional flag featuring a three-color rainbow “because they thought it was the LGBT flag.”
Victor Pereira, a reporter covering the tournament for several outlets in the northeast state of Pernambuco, said Qatari officers came after him and a group of fellow Brazilians outside the Lusail Iconic stadium Tuesday following Saudi Arabia’s stunning 2-1 win against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.
In a short Twitter video, a visibly shaken Pereira said he was hassled after authorities mistook his state’s flag — which features a yellow star and sun, a red cross and a red, yellow and green rainbow — for the classic version of the LGBTQ Pride flag known across the world as a six-color rainbow, designed by the late American artist and activist Gilbert Baker.
