“Infantino saved me” – Corriere.it

Mario Ferri, for all “il Falco”, also struck at the World Cup in Qatar with the invasion of the field during Portugal-Uruguay, just before the advantage signed by Bruno Fernandes. He suddenly appeared on the pitch, interrupting the game and popping up behind the Lusitan bench. And he entered the pitch showing the rainbow flag, a symbol banned from the World Cup in Qatar. Ferri wore the typical blue Superman shirt: in front of him appeared a message “Save Ukraine” and on the back “Respect for the Iranian woman”.

After the invasion, Ferri was interviewed by numerous TV channels from all over the world and told how he managed to pass the checks: «I was born lucky, it seemed impossible to make it. Then I noticed a small gap on the Portugal bench, I jumped on the bench and entered the field». He had hidden the flag in his briefs: «I rolled it up and screwed them. I arrived around 30′ and maybe they checked me very badly ». Of course, there was a lot of concern, especially when they blocked him and took him away: «They took me to the police room until the end of the game and I spoke to the security personnel» After an initial interrogation, the surprise: «At a certain point, the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino entered. I said to myself: “This time I did it big”. And he: After 12 years, we’ll see each other again”. I had seen him at the 2010 World Cup when I made another invasion, but he wasn’t president yet. Then he added: “In these 12 years you have not been able to find a girlfriend” and he explained to me how angry they were ».

At that point Ferri apologized directly to the FIFA president: «It was a message I cared so much about. And then I made a joke to him:
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It was like playing cops and robbers. I won alone against 20,000 stewards”». And, according to Ferri’s story, it was Infantino himself who helped him: «I explained that I just wanted to send a message of peace. At which point he said he had an idea to save me and walked out of the room. He probably thought that if they arrested me, a diplomatic case would have been created that could have ruined the World Cup. At that moment, however, I thought that they would arrest me and that I should ask someone to mediate for me. I had bad feelings. I never thought it would be Infantino who saved me».