Italian pitch invader Mario Ferri claims he met FIFA President Gianni Infantino after his demonstration during Portugal-Uruguay on Monday: ‘Is it you again?’
Ferri, also known as Falco – The Falcon – had made other pitch invasions in the past, always wearing a Superman shirt.
This time he was also holding a rainbow flag and had two different messages on his shirt. The front read ‘Save Ukraine’ and the back had ‘Respect for Iranian Woman.’
The 35-year-old also had pitch invasion stunts at the Club World Cup, Belgium-USA in the 2014 World Cup and Napoli–Juventus in 2017, amongst others.
During two different interviews with La Gazzetta Dello Sport and the Italian radio program La Zanzara, Ferri claimed that he met Infantino after being stopped by stewards on the pitch on Monday night, during Portugal-Uruguay.
“After 10 years, is it you again?” Infantino allegedly told Ferri.
Infantino had already seen Ferri at the 2010 World Cup after another pitch invasion.
Ferri was eventually released without consequences and told La Zanzara that he was given the ticket for the match by the embassy of an Asian country.
“You were lucky,” a policeman allegedly told the Italian.
“We’ve been trying to help you, normally, it doesn’t work like this.”