Tourist kicked off boat in Venice after refusing to wear mask

Man mocked passengers and crew who asked him to respect the rules

A tourist in Venice was kicked off a boat by fellow passengers after he refused to wear a face mask on board.

The man, believed to be German, was forcibly removed from the vaporetto – a Venetian public waterbus – when he declined to put on his mask and mocked crew and passengers who asked him to respect the rules.

The incident occurred at San Zaccaria pier, behind the popular tourist spot of St Mark’s Square, after the tourist stepped off the vaporetto to let other passengers alight, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

When he tried to reboard the boat, fellow passengers repeatedly blocked his way.

Video of the altercation shows one visibly angry man, enraged by the German tourist, being restrained by others onboard.

In Italy, masks are mandatory on all public transport, as well as in enclosed spaces.

They must also be worn in outdoor spaces between the hours of 6pm and 6am.

Passengers can be removed from public transport for refusing to wear a mask, while fines of up to €1,000 can be dished out, depending on the region, for refusal to comply with the rules.

It follows a passenger on a train in France being forced to get off after refusing to wear a face mask.

The unnamed man was travelling on the TGV Paris-Nice service on 16 August when he was asked to put on a face covering, which are currently mandatory on French public transport.

He repeatedly refused, until the decision was taken to make an unscheduled stop so the man could be kicked off.

The train doesn’t normally stop before reaching Marseille, but railway security opted to eject the traveller at Creusot in the Saône-et-Loire region of eastern France – around 470km away from the next scheduled stop.