Amnesty International denounced this Thursday several cases of fans who received a shirt in favor of human rights before the Portugal-Nigeria soccer match, in Alvalade, who were prevented from entering with it on.
“With sadness and regret, Amnesty International Portugal saw today that a solidarity action towards migrant workers in Qatar was restricted by security guards at the Alvalade Stadium,” a statement released by that organization in Portugal can be read.
Nearly a thousand T-shirts, resembling the vests of construction workers, of the ‘Forgotten Team’, the migrants who died, suffered injuries and human rights abuses in the preparations for the 2022 World Cup, were handed over to the Portugal-Nigeria. special preparation.
According to Amnesty, several supporters denounced the security guards of the place, who forced them to “take off and give them the shirt”, which was confirmed by a team of activists from that organization.
“Having given themselves the same indication: that they could only enter if they took off their shirts and left them outside, throwing them in the trash. Finally, the security guards refused to return the abandoned shirts to the organization’s activists,” the note can be read above.
Amnesty adds that the security guards “justified this action by responding to people who are following instructions from the Portuguese Football Federation”, an institution to which they have already requested “urgent clarifications”.
A Lusa, a source from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) explained that the organization of the match, in charge of UEFA, had not been informed of the initiative, attributing this action to “some overzealous security guards”.
According to the same source, from the moment the federation found out about the case, other fans could enter with the shirts, he defended.
“We hope that everything is nothing more than a misunderstanding and that the Portuguese Football Federation can clarify or distance itself from this sad episode of lack of respect for the freedom of expression of the fans of our team”, considered Pedro A. Neto, executive director of Amnesty International Portugal.
That organization “fears that this episode is one more stain on an event that should also be an opportunity for inclusion, respect, and promotion of human rights,” feeling that a right to freedom of expression has been restricted.
The Men’s Soccer World Cup will be held between November 20 and December 18, with the Portuguese team classified and placed in group H, along with Uruguay, Ghana and South Korea.
Source: TSF
