New Delhi

The protester who invaded the pitch in Narendra Modi stadium in western Ahmedabad city, Gujarat, during the World Cup finals between India and Australia was identified as “Wayne John” on Sunday (Nov 19).

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During the 14th over of the match, a man wearing a face mask that resembled the colours of the Palestinian flag and a T-shirt with the slogans “Stop Bombing Palestine” and “Free Palestine” invaded the middle of the pitch in the 132,000-seat mega-stadium.

The man attempted to unfurl the Palestinian flag before being taken away by the security guards.

Pitch invasion exposes gaping holes in security 

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The pitch invasion incident has exposed gaping holes in the tight security considering that major Indian celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, and Indian politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi were in attendance.

While being taken away, the man revealed his name to the reporters as “John”, and added that he entered the field to meet Virat Kohli.

"My name is John...I am from Australia. I entered (the field) to meet Virat Kohli. I support Palestine," he was seen speaking.

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According to reports, Wayne Johnson is an Australian of Chinese-Filipino heritage. He was detained and sent to the Chand Kheda Police Station.

Also read | World Cup 2023: Pitch invader wearing 'Stop bombing Palestine' T-shirt halts India vs Australia final

Next course of action unknown 

Since he is a foreign national, it is not yet known what kind of action will be taken against him.

The International Cricket Council— the global governing body of cricket—does not allow political protests at the games.

Also read | Game on! Indian CEO offers ₹100cr ($12mn) reward to users if India wins World Cup final against Australia

The October 7 assault on Palestine by the Hamas terror group killed 1,200 Israelis, while at least 200 were taken as hostages.

More than 12,000 have been killed in the retaliatory attacks by Israel.

(With inputs from agencies)