FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show Italians Celebrating The National Soccer Team’s European Championship Victory With Firecrackers?

A video shared on Facebook claims to show Italians celebrating the men’s national team’s recent victory in the 2020 European Championship soccer tournament by igniting a long line of firecrackers.

Verdict: False

The video shows a religious festival in Taiwan in April, not a soccer celebration in Italy.

Fact Check:

Italy’s national men’s soccer team won the 2020 European Championship after defeating England on July 11, a win that prompted celebrations across the country, according to The New York Times. Now, a July 13 video claims to show supporters of the team setting off a long line of red firecrackers in the street.

“Italy’s celebration on euro cup winning,” reads the post’s caption. “No pollution for them ,only India’s Dipawali crackers pollute the world!” (RELATED: Does This Image Show Italian Police Laying Down Their Equipment In Solidarity With People Protesting COVID-19 Restrictions?)

Dipawali, or Diwali, is India’s most important holiday, and is typically celebrated with a large festival in which firecrackers and fireworks are ignited, a tradition that has been criticized for contributing to air pollution, according to NPR.

The Facebook video does not, however, show a celebration in Italy. Through a reverse image search of key frames, Check Your Fact found similar footage posted on YouTube in April by Taiwanese news outlet Sanli News Network with the title: “Firecrackers stretch for 500 meters to welcome Baishatun Mazu enthusiastically.”

The Baishatun Mazu (or Matsu) Pilgrimage is an annual religious festival in which tens of thousands of people walk 400 kilometers across Taiwan to honor the sea goddess Matsu, according to the Taipei Times. This year’s pilgrimage began on April 11, the outlet reported. Firecrackers are often set off along the route to celebrate the deity, according to Taiwan Panorama.

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