The protester who stormed the pitch during Portugal's win over Uruguay has broken his silence with a statement on social media.
Mario Ferri ran on and stopped the game minutes before Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring in the Group H clash. Ferri was carrying an LGBT+ Pride flag which he then threw onto the pitch in front of referee Alireza Faghani.
He was also wearing a blue T-shirt which read "Respect for Iranian Women" on the back and "Save Ukraine " on the front. His first message of carrying the Pride flag relates to Qatar's persecution of the LGBT+ community, amid rainbow symbols being confiscated from fans by the country's security forces.
The second message in support of Iranian women relates to the protests currently been held in that country, which have been trying to secure more rights for the female members of the population.
And his final message to "Save Ukraine" is in support of the Ukrainian people, who are currently fighting a war against Russia after being invaded earlier this year. Ferri was carried off the pitch by stadium security after he ran onto the pitch.
But he has now broken his silence with a statement on Instagram, in which he slammed FIFA and declared his support for the people of Iran and Ukraine. His post used several images from his protest as he revealed his motivation.
"I’M BACK. I’ll call it “THE LAST DANCE” my last run in a playing field, I wanted to send some IMPORTANT messages to me that I’ve lived on my skin in the past months," Ferri's statement began.
"1) A message for Iran where I have friends who are suffering, where women are not respected... THE WORLD MUST CHANGE, we can do it together with STRONG gestures, that come from the heart, WITH COURAGE.
"2) FIFA banned rainbow captains bands and human rights flags on the stands, they blocked everyone, BUT NOT ME, like a Robinhood 2.0 I brought the message of the PEOPLE We want a free world that laughs f**** all races and all the ideas.
"3) SAVE THE UKRAINE. I spent a month at the war in Kiev as a volunteer and saw how much that people were suffering. WE WANT PEACE UK️ IN UKRAINE, GLORY TO UKRAINE. Thank you for all the messages of love that I receive from the world, from Iran and Ukraine. Breaking the rules if done for a good cause is NEVER A CRIME."
Ferri's protest came after FIFA banned players from wearing the One Love armband and security personnel were seen confiscating flags calling for more rights for Iranian women. He was praised by Portugal star Ruben Neves, who insisted "we are all with them".
Neves said: "We know what has happened around this World Cup. It is a normal thing that can happen. Of course, we are all with them and the message on his shirt as well. We hope nothing happens to the boy because we understand his message and I think all the world understood it as well."
