Rainbow, Iran, Ukraine
Superman is the bravest speedster of all time

By Stephan Uersfeld, Lusail
28/11/2022, 22:30

Portugal’s World Cup preliminary round match against Uruguay will be remembered mainly for a speedster. The man delivers several messages at the same time: He carries a rainbow flag, has prints on his shirt for peace in Ukraine and solidarity with Iranian women.

The World Cup qualifier match between Portugal and Uruguay is not one of the most important in this World Cup. But the match at the final stadium on December 17, the Lusail Stadium, will be remembered for another reason. After 50 minutes a speedster ran into the square and took big politics with them. He protested multiple messages at once. Waving a rainbow flag, his blue Superman shirt read “Save Ukraine” on the front and “Respect the Women of Iran” on the back.

After running across the field, the man was stopped by security forces and escorted off the field. Iranian referee Alireza Faghani picked up a flag left on the pitch and brought it to the sidelines. Then he picked up the folder and, after a few seconds, led it out of the interior through the same exit the fan went through.

TV viewers barely see the sights at all, the international direction takes them out of the worldview as much as possible. The runabout is only seen briefly, followed by the referee with flag in hand.

Rainbow flag, war in Ukraine, violent repression of protests in Iran. Three themes highlighting some of the most controversial points of contention in the World Cup ever. Runabout shows great courage with his space attacks. Political messages are strictly prohibited by FIFA in this tournament. In the first match of the tournament, rainbow colored kits are strictly prohibited, and homosexuality is a punishable offense in the World Cup host countries. Statements about the political upheaval in Iran were also consistently confiscated by the security forces.

In March still in Ukraine

The man is most likely Mario Ferri from Italy. He has gained fame in his home country in the past through his swift actions in Superman shirts and earned the nickname “Il Falco”, the falcon. Among other things, he invaded the field in the semifinals of Germany against Spain (0:1) at the 2010 World Cup. At that time he was carrying a vuvuzela and the message: “Lippi, I told you so”. He was referring to the failure of the then world champion in the preliminary round.

But the message has changed over the years. Always a footballer, he last played for United Sports Club, a club based in Calcutta, India, CBS reported in March 2022. Expelled from India due to the pandemic in February, he soon found himself in Poland, only on the border to Ukraine and then in Ukraine itself. “I drove to Lviv, looked for people who needed help and then drove for 5, 10, 15 hours,” Ferri told CBS.

Other contacts with refugees are made via Instagram. “I thought social media was just for useless stuff, but now I have a very different perspective,” he said. It’s no wonder that just a few minutes after the action in Lusail, the Instagram account “Falcon” was attacked. Thank you for a quick read there. “Thank you very much for your support of Iran,” he said there and “Free Marco”.