World Cup: who is Mario Ferri, the Italian who tore off Portugal-Uruguay with a rainbow flag

Once again, no one was able to block the flight of the Falcon and prevent Mario Ferri from entering the field. His new playground? Lusail Stadium. In the 52nd minute of the World Cup Group H game between Portugal and Uruguay (2-0) on Monday evening, an Italian stormed onto the Qatar field armed with a rainbow sky flag, the emblem of the repressed LGBT community in the Gulf emirate, and a T-shirt with the letter “S” from “Superman”, as well as inscriptions in English in support of Ukraine and Iranian women.

The scene, surreptitiously seen on TV before awareness escaped it, lasted only about thirty seconds. Sprint through the apathetic players before throwing your flag to the ground and being grabbed by the fence security. Mario Ferri was then taken off the pitch without violence.

“We know what is happening around this World Cup. Of course, we are with them, with Iran too, Iranian women. I hope nothing happens to this boy because we understand his message and I think the world understands him too,” Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves reacted after the game. Desire is clearly heard. According to AFP, citing a local source, the man was quickly released. On Tuesday, late in the morning, his latest video, posted to his Instagram account, showed Celesao star Cristiano Ronaldo being taken from the podium of an enclosure and called “my love” by an Italian who was plotting his coup.

Habit for Transalpin, born in 1987. During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, he broke into the turf of the Salvador de Bahia stadium, which was hosting the round of 16 match between Belgium and the United States, annoying more players at the time. . Still wearing the flocked T-shirt with the famous superhero “S”, but this time with slogans dedicated to the Neapolitan supporter Ciro, who died shortly before, as well as to the children of the favelas. “For me, FIFA is a mafia,” he later explained to Tutto Mercato to justify his act.

But Mario Ferri, whose animal nickname that lends itself to his art of avoiding obstacles comes from football qualities seen in his youth, does he really need a good reason to get out and run on the pitch? In 2010, Sokol has already managed to enter the semi-finals of the World Cup between Spain and Germany. In the same year, he also disrupted the final of the Club World Cup between Inter Milan and Tout Puissant Mazembe in Abu Dhabi, from where, after his gesture, he tried to escape on a cruise ship. Because of which, according to him, he spent the day “tied hand and foot.”

In Ukraine for humanitarian convoys

The list is long: the Italy-USA friendly match, the match between Naples and Juventus Turin in 2017 to spit his hatred in the head of Argentinean Gonzalo Higuain, who had just moved from Campania to Piedmont, or even the Champions League final. between Barcelona and Manchester United in 2011. “I’ve always liked the risk,” he explained to Milan News in 2012 in an interview where he reveals that he first looked for a shirt for Italian striker Antonio Cassano, his idol, before falling backwards, for lack of a better one, on Superman’s blue.

But what does Mario Ferri live on? Ten years ago, he explained that he owns a restaurant in Italy, is the artistic director of several establishments, and organizes events and parties. On his Instagram account, followed by 135,000 people today, Mario Ferri now explains that he is a “tipster”, i.e. a sports betting consultant. So someone who presents himself online as a “modern pirate” or “Robin Hood” claims to have financed his humanitarian trip to Ukraine in March.

While he was away playing football in India, Mario Ferri decided to take to the field to help people fleeing the conflict provoked by Russia. “I got a call from a Ukrainian friend, and instead of spending hours in front of the TV or computer doing nothing, I decided to go,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport. Ferry rented the Golf to transport people between Lvov, in the west of the country, and the Polish border.

Other story ? Mario Ferri, who played part of the Europa League conference preliminary round with the San Marino club this summer, has plenty. In April 2020, he is filmed in total confinement on the beach in his city of Pescara while jogging. Chased by a police officer, he flees and eventually lets the law enforcement official go. Finally caught, he will be fined. Briefly about his life.