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

A protester outside the funeral of Cardinal George Pell was 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 oldest Catholic, is being buried in Sydney after he died of complications from hip replacement surgery in January.

Hundreds of protesters gathered across the street in Sydney’s 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 roped-off area outside the cathedral and loudly blowing a whistle.

The protester was blowing a whistle along the border line before being stopped by police.

The police removed the protester (pictured with his rainbow umbrella) from the cathedral.

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

The man, wearing a face mask and a T-shirt reading “facts not stories,” walked away from police and continued to blow his whistle along the fence.

Police outside the gated area then approached the man and surrounded him while yelling, ‘no, I didn’t do anything’ several times.

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

Four officers then surrounded the man, pushing him away from the cathedral and vigorously seizing his umbrella as they led him toward a waiting wagon.

NSW Police confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that the man was “removed” from the protest but not arrested.

A police spokesman 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 too.”

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

NSW Police attempted to stop the protest at the High Court over “security concerns”.

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

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