An irruption on the ground will be worth banning him from other matches. On Tuesday, November 29, FIFA withdrew its access card to the 2022 World Cup stadiums from the Italian citizen who had briefly interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay match on Monday, crossing the lawn with a rainbow flag.
“As a consequence of his act, and this is regular practice, his Hayya card has been canceled and he has been banned from attending any future matches in this tournament”, FIFA said in a statement. The Hayya mapissued by the authorities of Qatar, serves as a permit to enter the emirate, a public transport card and an entry ticket to the stadiums during this World Cup.
“Breaking the rules for a good cause”
Mario Ferri, 35, who calls himself ‘the Falcon’, interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay match by running onto the pitch with a T-shirt stamped on the front with the logo of ‘Superman’ and an inscription in support of Ukraine “Save Ukraine” (“save Ukraine”) as well as a message in favor of Iranian women on the back (“Respect for Iranian Women”). During this irruption, which lasted only a few seconds, Mr. Ferri also brandished a flocked rainbow flag with the inscription “PACE”“peace” in Italian.
Tackled to the ground by a steward, he was then escorted out of the enclosure and placed in detention. He was quickly released “without further consequence”, the Italian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. It was the first time that a match had been marked by such intrusion since the start of the competition organized in Qatar, in the face of Western criticism over the treatment of LGBT + people. In the country, homosexuality is subject to criminal prosecution.
On Instagram, the activist defended his act, ensuring that“breaking the rules for a good cause is never a crime”. “I spent a month in the war in kyiv as a volunteer and saw how much these people are suffering”wrote Mr. Ferri to justify the multiple message that he tried to convey, adding, concerning Iran, wanting to pass “important messages”in a country “where women are not respected”.
Accustomed to militant actions
Eight European teams announced before the tournament that their captain would wear a rainbow armband ” One Love “, but the idea was scrapped after threats of sanctions from FIFA. The supreme body of world football has assured that flags or clothes in the colors of the rainbow will be accepted in the stadiums but, in fact, these have been confiscated several times by the security forces . “FIFA banned rainbow captain’s armbands and human rights flags from the stands, they blocked everyone but not me like a Robin Hood”testified Mario Ferri.
The activist is a footballer playing in lower division clubs. It is defined as “a modern hacker”. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, he has performed in India, Switzerland, San Marino, Seychelles and Jordan.
He is also a regular in militant actions: during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he entered the field during the Belgium – United States match with a T-shirt bearing the inscriptions “Save the children of the favelas” and “Ciro vive”in tribute to a supporter of Naples killed shortly before, according to the Italian agency AGI.