With a rainbow flag and a political Superman shirt, the activist ran across the lawn of Lusail Stadium. “Save Ukraine” on the front of the blue T-shirt, on the back “Respect for Iranian Woman” – the Italian’s three messages at the World Cup match between Portugal and Uruguay went around the football world on Monday evening.
The morning after, the anxious question determined the events of the tournament in Qatar: How is the man? Mario Ferri gave the answer himself in the early afternoon: “I’m free”. He does not have to fear legal consequences, he wrote on Instagram. Ferri also referred to FIFA’s ban on the “One Love” captain’s armband in his statement. “They prevented everything except me. (…) We want a free world that respects all people and all ideas,” he wrote.
The messages of the rainbow speedster at the Qatar World Cup
Fifa and the World Cup organizing committee announced in the afternoon that the “person” had been quickly released and the visa had been annulled. Ferri elaborated. “Breaking the rules is never a crime if you do it for a good cause,” wrote the Italian, who has already had a number of speedster actions – including at the German World Cup game in South Africa 2010 against Spain. But now it seems to be over: “I’ll call it “The Last Dance”, my last run on a field, I wanted to send important messages to me.”
The first, the rainbow flag, is a central symbol for the LGBTQI* community. LGBT is the English abbreviation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and punishable by up to seven years in prison. The second, the lettering “Save Ukraine”, clearly alludes to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. By his own admission, Ferri was briefly in Kyiv “as a volunteer” during the war. And thirdly, “Respect for Iranian Woman” deals with the fate of thousands in Iran, where protests against the government and the Islamic system of rule have been going on for weeks. In many places, the protests are led by women.
Even before Ferri, streakers caused a stir with political and non-political statements on the pitch. An overview of the most well-known examples.