The Italian who ran onto the World Cup pitch wearing a T-shirt in support of Ukraine and Iranian women is a football player with a history of similar stunts.
Mario Ferri, 35, who calls himself “The Falcon”, interrupted the Portugal-Uruguay game on Monday when he sprinted onto the pitch wearing a blue Superman T-shirt with “Save Ukraine” on the front and “Respect for Iranian Woman” on the back.
He also carried a rainbow-coloured flag adorned with the words PACE, meaning peace in Italian.
“I’m BACK,” wrote the footballer on his Instagram page, where he describes himself as a “modern pirate”.
Ferri said he wanted to send “important messages”, including for Iran “where I have friends who are suffering, where women are not respected”.