Unexpected Incident in the 2018 World Cup Final
Despite numerous security measures, three individuals, two women and one man, stormed the field during the second half when the score was 2-1 in favor of France against Croatia.
France crowned champions of Russia 2018 after defeating Croatia in a goal-filled final match.
Their "invasion" was captured by cameras and forced the game to be halted.
Their entry happened in the second half (Getty Images)
In a statement, the Moscow police reported that three young women and one man had been arrested. They also confirmed that they belong to the punk group Pussy Riot, one of the most critical voices against President Vladimir Putin.
The activists had already claimed responsibility for the pitch invasion in a statement posted on social media.
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The four individuals were sentenced to 15 days in prison for what was the first security breach to occur in this tournament, for which Russia was praised for its good organization and efficiency.
The Russian police formally charged them with violating rules against attendees at sports events and illegally wearing police uniforms. The fines are US$161 and US$23, respectively.
50 meters
Dressed in black pants and white shirts, resembling Russian police officers, two women and one man accessed the field from behind the French side and even greeted some of the players.
Apparently, a fourth person also tried to enter the scene but was arrested before being successful, as reported by the Reuters agency.
One of the "invaders" salutes Mbappé before being expelled (Getty Images)
The group of "invaders" managed to run 50 meters before security guards entered and forcefully removed them from there.
At that moment, a struggle took place between one of the individuals who entered the field and the Croatian footballer Dejan Lovren, in a particularly tense moment of the match, as the Croatians were trailing on the scoreboard.
Croatian footballer Dejan Lovren seems to confront Pyotr Verzilov, as the only man who entered the field was identified (Getty Images)
Who were they
Shortly after the unknown individuals entered the field, the Pussy Riot group claimed responsibility for what happened.
(Getty Images)
"ALERT! Right now: four members of Pussy Riot participated in the World Cup final," the group stated on their Twitter account, managed by Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.
Olga Kurachyova, a band member, confirmed to Reuters over the phone that she was one of the people who entered the field.
Kurachyova said she had been arrested and was at a police station in Moscow.
"Freedom"
Three members of Pussy Riot were imprisoned in 2012 for carrying out a protest against President Vladimir Putin in a church, and since then the band has become a symbol against the Kremlin.
Shortly after the incident in the final, the group published a statement on Facebook calling for "the freedom of political prisoners, freedom of expression on the internet, freedom of assembly," and for "political competition" to be allowed in the country.
In a YouTube video, they spread footage featuring three members of the band, one of them with a covered face, wearing the same clothing used by the individuals who stormed the match.
Field security quickly dragged away the "intruders" (Getty Images)
"In Russia, there is no rule of law and any policeman can disrupt your life without any reason. The FIFA World Cup demonstrated how well policemen can behave, but what will happen when it's over?" they stated in those images, which transition to the ones showing the incident in the final.
On Facebook, they also mentioned the case of Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 after being found guilty of setting fire to two offices in Crimea, one of them belonging to the ruling Russian party, after Moscow annexed that territory. (D)
