Pussy Riot Says Its Members Ran Onto the Field in World Cup Final

Members of political activist group Pussy Riot said they staged a disruption of the World Cup final between France and Croatia by running onto the field while wearing police uniforms.

During the second half of the game, around the 52-minute mark, four people ran onto the field but were quickly taken into custody by security guards.

The group posted a statement on Twitter, noting that Sunday was the 11th anniversary of the death of Dmitri Prigov, a prolific Russian poet who challenged authorities in the Soviet Union. The group is known for staging protests against Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.

In the statement, the group said that during the World Cup, Russia had demonstrated the qualities of a good police force, one that cared about the rules of the game, compared to the police force that “enters the game not caring about the rules.”

A photo of one of the protesters high-fiving French player Kylian Mbappé was posted on Twitter.

The group also posted a list of demands, including releasing political prisoners, putting an end to fabricated criminal accusations to keep people imprisoned and allowing political competition in the country.