Pitch invasion by punk group a protest over ‘illegal arrests’

PUSSY Riot has claimed responsibility for the four pitch invaders who disrupted the World Cup final between France and Croatia in Moscow.

In the 51st minute, four people emerged from the stands and one made it to the centre circle. They were quickly tackled by security and the match resumed after a delay of about one minute.

The women of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk rock group, rose to global prominence with their daring outdoor performances, which were critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2012, two members were sent to prison for nearly two years. The punk band said on Twitter that the disruption was a protest.

The four people who charged onto the field, in what appeared to be old-fashioned police uniforms, were tackled to the ground by stewards.

Croatia defender Dejan Lovren pushed a male protester, helping a steward to detain him.

Before being hauled away, one woman managed to reach the centre circle and share a double high-five with France forward Kylian Mbappe.

“Hello, everyone from the Luzhniki field, it’s great here,” the group said on Twitter and released a statement calling for the freeing of political prisoners, an end to “illegal arrests” of protesters and to “allow political competition” in Russia.

The statement referenced the case of Oleg Sentsov, a vocal opponent of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

He was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years for conspiracy to commit terror acts. He denies the charges and has been on a hunger strike since mid-May.

Mr Putin was watching the game alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

The protest was briefly shown on international TV broadcasts, even though Fifa policy is usually to cut away from field invasions.

The group said the police uniforms symbolised how Russian police’s actions fall short of their “heavenly” depiction and called for reforms.