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

• Former Italy stars criticised over presence in Moscow

• They defend visit as being for sport and children

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 Moscow launched one of its most brutal missile attacks on Kyiv.

The former Juventus and Milan midfielder Pirlo, one of the defining figures of Italian football and now manager of United FC in Dubai, was photographed on Sunday alongside the Russian striker Artem Dzyuba, during “Football Day” celebrations at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. Shortly after the start of the full-scale invasion, Dzyuba, Russia’s former captain, said he was “proud to be Russian”.