Russian Activist Group Pussy Riot Claims Responsibility For Pitch Invasion At World Cup Final
The 2018 World Cup has just concluded, with France convincingly defeating Croatia, 4-2, and bagging its second World Cup after its first-ever win in 1998. But aside from what actually happened during the game, Sunday’s World Cup final in Russia also stood out for an unexpected incident where four people ran onto the pitch and interrupted the game. The identities of the pitch invaders weren’t immediately recognizable to everyone, but in a Facebook statement posted shortly after the game, Russian protest rock band Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the stunt and explained the rationale behind it.
According to a report from the Independent, the incident took place early in the second half, when three women and one man emerged from the area behind France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ goal, not long after his teammate, Kylian Mbappe, made an unsuccessful attempt to extend France’s 2-1 lead. The invaders, who were wearing identical outfits of white shirts, black neckties, and black pants, were chased by stewards as referee Nestor Pitana halted play.
All in all, the interruption didn’t last too long, and order was quickly restored when the people were removed from the field. It also didn’t take much time for Pussy Riot to take to social media, as the activist band said on Facebook that the pitch invaders were actually band members. According to The Guardian, one member, Olga Kurachyova, admitted to being one of the four people who stormed the pitch, adding that she was detained in a Moscow police station for her role in the stunt.
In their Facebook post, Pussy Riot said that the pitch invasion was done in honor of the “great Russian poet” Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov, who died of a heart attack exactly 11 years ago to this day. The band went on to explain the difference between “heavenly” and “earthly” policemen, a concept originally defined by Prigov where the former type of officer acts righteously and the latter rules with cruelty and corruption.
“The heavenly policeman protects baby’s sleep, the earthly policeman persecutes political prisoners, imprisons people for ‘reposts’ and ‘likes,'” read one of the passages from Pussy Riot’s statement, which was posted in both their native Russian and in English.
“The heavenly policeman is the organizer of this World Cup’s beautiful carnival, the earthy policeman is afraid of the celebration. The heavenly policeman carefully watches for obeying the game rules, the earthly policeman enters the game not caring about the rules.”
Group claim responsibility for #WorldCupfinal pitch invasion https://t.co/s7xPtH4qQO pic.twitter.com/l5WhwVuARo
— The Sun Football ? (@TheSunFootball) July 15, 2018
Again referencing the “earthly,” corrupt type of police officers, Pussy Riot listed six demands that need to be met whenever such a policeman “enters the game.”
“1. Let all political prisoners free.
2. Not imprison for ‘likes.’
3. Stop Illegal arrests on rallies.
4. Allow political competition in the country.
5. Not fabricate criminal accusations and not keep people in jails for no reason.
6. Turn the earthly policeman into the heavenly policeman.”
As recalled by The Guardian, the pitch invasion Pussy Riot took responsibility for is just the latest in a series of protest actions carried out by the band, which first gained worldwide attention in 2012 when they organized a protest inside Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral. The World Cup stunt was reportedly witnessed by several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been the primary target of many of the band’s past protests.
