Blog Briefing Room

Pussy Riot disrupts World Cup with on-field protest

Getty Images

Russian punk rock protest group Pussy Riot is claiming responsibility for a field disruption during the World Cup final in Moscow.

Broadcasts of the match briefly showed four people running onto the field dressed as police officers and chased by stewards, according to The Associated Press, minutes before France was declared victorious in the game.

{mosads}The group, which rose to fame after two of its members were imprisoned for protests against Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a statement on Twitter that the stunt was a protest honoring the political writings of a deceased Russian poet.

The group said that the protest was meant to demand the release of political prisoners and condemn illegal arrests at rallies and political imprisonment for “likes” and “reposts.”

The game was briefly stopped while stewards detained the protesters.

Putin was present at the game.

Tags

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.