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LGBTQI protestor interrupts Hungarian national anthem at Euro 2020

Fans applauded as an LGBTQI protestor ran onto the field and held up the rainbow flag, interrupting the Hungarian national anthem.

The unknown LGBTQI protestor was immediately tackled by stewards and pinned to the ground in front of the Hungarian and German teams, before being escorted away as cheers reverberated around the stadium.

Good thing this protest didn’t occur in Hungary, who knows what the consequences would have been then.

Rainbow Stadium
Image: Japantimes.co.jp

An LGBTQI support protest is always welcome regardless of any particular reason, but this bold move was motivated by something worth discussing.

Munich City Council’s request to ignite the stadium with an array of rainbow lights, to highlight Hungary’s abominable LGBTQI laws.

Mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, proposed the rainbow light idea for this particular match against Hungary as a ‘fuck you’ to their government’s discrimination.

Specifically, the recent decision to ban materials in schools that ‘promote homosexuality and gender change’.

Not only that, but Hungary also has restricted the media from including this content in programs accessible to minors.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) stated that the proposal for the stadium was rejected because it was a political statement blatantly addressed to Hungary.

What is ironic about this is that on May 25, the UEFA announced their campaign of ‘Equal Game’ fronted by six male and female ambassadors, which aimed to:

“Encouraging fans, players, clubs, national associations and other football stakeholders to join the fight against discrimination,” according to the UEFA website.

To add icing on top of the cake, the UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said himself:

“It is inspiring to see a younger generation of top footballers using their influence to stand up, tackle discrimination and educate and inspire others,”

“We feel strongly committed to this cause and have chosen the global reach of EURO 2020 to maximise the impact of this campaign.”

Continuing to contradict their own ‘objectives’, the UEFA very recently criticised German footballer, Manuel Neuer for wearing a rainbow-coloured armband during an earlier game of the tournament.

According to German broadcaster NTV, the UEFA investigated the captain’s armband choice and the German soccer federation (the DFB), potentially facing a fine because “political symbols are not permitted at the tournament.”

This was rebelled by German protestors by handing out small rainbow-coloured flags at the game and donning rainbow face masks.

The game was tied by 2-2, the equaliser scored by German team substitute Leon Goretzka. He made a heart symbol with his hands as Germany won.

Goretzka has openly supported the LGBTQI community by stating that he hopes that more athletes will come out while still playing. Is he perhaps talking about…himself? Good on ya Germany.