George Pell funeral protester dragged from St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney for blowing a whistle

A protester outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral has been brutally dragged away by police after marching around the cathedral and blowing a whistle.

There were tense scenes outside St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Thursday as hundreds of protesters clashed with Catholic mourners before and during Pell’s burial

Pell, Australia’s most senior Catholic, is being laid to rest in Sydney after he died from complications arising from hip replacement surgery in January.

Hundreds of protesters gathered across the road in Sydney’s in Hyde Park before marching to the edge of the street carrying rainbow flags and banners.

Footage showed a man carrying a rainbow umbrella walking around the perimeter of a cordoned-off area outside the cathedral and loudly blowing a whistle.

The protester was blowing a whistle along the boundary line before being grabbed by police

The protester (pictured with his rainbow umbrella) was pulled away from the cathedral by police

Several police could be seen talking to the man, who asked ‘what am I doing wrong?’.

The man, wearing a face mask and a ‘facts not stories’ t-shirt, then walked away from the police, continuing to blow his whistle along the fence line.

Police outside the closed area then approached the man and surrounded him as he yelled, ‘no, I didn’t do anything’ multiple times.

‘What am I doing? I have a right to be here,’ he said.

Four officers then surrounded the man, pushing him away from the cathedral and vigorously grabbing his umbrella as they marched him towards a waiting paddy wagon. 

NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia the man was ‘moved on’ from the protest but not arrested.

a police spokesperson said no arrests had been made at the event so far.  

Earlier on Thursday, protesters were heard chanting ‘George Pell go to hell, take Dutton there as well’.

The protest has been organised by Community Action for Rainbow Rights.

The heated scenes come after protesters were given the green light to gather outside and hold a protest during the funeral after negotiations with police.

The protest has been organised by Community Action for Rainbow Rights.

NSW Police tried to stop the protest in the Supreme Court over “safety concerns”.

But the court was told on Wednesday that “alternative arrangements” had been made with protest organisers to use a different route.

The service is being attended by dignitaries from across the country, including leaders of the Catholic Church and Coalition leader Peter Dutton.