‘Moral bankrupts’: Pirlo and Materazzi provoke fury by attending ‘Football Day’ in Russia

<ul><li><p>Former Italy stars criticised over presence in Moscow</p></li><li><p>Pair defend visit as being for sport and children</p></li></ul><p>The presence of the Italian World Cup winners Andrea Pirlo and Marco ­Materazzi in Russia for a sports event has sparked outrage. The former players signed autographs and posed for selfies with Kremlin supporters on the day <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/24/russia-hits-kyiv-ukraine-hypersonic-ballistic-missile">Moscow launched one of its most brutal missile attacks on Kyiv</a>.</p><p>Pirlo, the former Juventus and Milan midfielder and one of the ­defining figures of Italian football is now manager of United FC in Dubai. <a href="https://www.fanpage.it/sport/calcio/pirlo-in-russia-con-lo-sponsor-mentre-bombardano-kiev-heraskevych-solo-per-soldi-sei-un-fallito/">He was photographed on Sunday alongside the Russia striker Artem Dzyuba</a>, during “Football Day” ­celebrations at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. In March 2022, shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/mar/02/everton-mykolenko-hits-out-at-russia-footballers-silence-over-ukraine-invasion">Dzyuba, the national side’s former captain, said he was “proud to be Russian”</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/may/27/andrea-pirlo-marco-materazzi-criticised-attending-football-day-russia">Continue reading...</a>