Pitch invaders protest human rights abuses
MOSCOW: The World Cup final between France and Croatia yesterday morning was briefly interrupted when four intruders affiliated to antiKremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran on to the pitch, before being hauled off by stewards.
The pitch invaders, who were dressed in policestyle outfits, were later detained by police, one of them said by telephone from a police station near Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, venue for the match.
Police said they were investigating the four on suspicion of violating rules for spectating at a sporting event as well as for illegally wearing police uni forms, the Interfax news agency reported.
The pitch invasion was the first significant security lapse in the fiveweek tournament, which has won host Russia widespread praise for organisation and efficiency.
In a post on its Facebook page, the group said its action was intended to draw attention to what it said were human rights abuses in Russia.
Three of Pussy Riot’s original members were jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church and the group has since become a symbol of antiKremlin direct action.
In the second half of the match, the three people wearing shirts with policestyle epaulettes, black trousers and police hats ran out on the pitch from behind the French goal.
A fourth person tried to run on to the pitch but was tackled on the sidelines.
The three ran about 50m, dispersing in different directions, before stewards tackled them to the ground and dragged them off the pitch.
The match, watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents, was halted, but resumed about 25 seconds later.
Pussy Riot member Olga Kurachyova said she was one of the pitch invaders and was being held at Luzhniki police station.
In its Facebook post, Pussy Riot complained of rights abuses in Russia. It alluded to Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker jailed for 20 years in 2015 for setting fire to two offices in Crimea, including one belonging to Russia’s ruling party, after Moscow annexed the region from Ukraine.
Pussy Riot said its demands included freeing political prisoners in Russia, freedom of speech on the internet, freedom to protest, and allowing political competition. — Reuters