World Cup - Pussy Riot Sentenced to 15 Days Jail for Field Blitz

The four members of the Pussy Riot protest group who interrupted the World Cup final match between France and Croatia on Sunday will have to spend 15 days in jail.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pussy Riot members jailed for 15 days over World Cup pitch invasion <a href="https://t.co/blPtfhc9wi">https://t.co/blPtfhc9wi</a> :Auto pickup by wikyou</p>&mdash; Australia7News (@Australia7News) <a href="https://twitter.com/Australia7News/status/1018993698623766528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The pitch invasion by the punk band members was a brazen act witnessed by Russian President Vladimir Putin at his country’s Luzhiniki stadium in Moscow.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There&#39;s been a pitch invasion! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupfinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupfinal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BetwayWC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BetwayWC</a> <a href="https://t.co/ElNITRG4mJ">https://t.co/ElNITRG4mJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/yH3MVIQVgJ">pic.twitter.com/yH3MVIQVgJ</a></p>&mdash; The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSunFootball/status/1018528469230276609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2018</a></blockquote>

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The four members charged were Veronika Nikulshina, Olga Pakhtusova, Olga Kurachyova and the only male Pyotr Verzilov.

Along with the short jail term, the four protesters will also be banned from attending sports events for three years.

Three of Pussy Riot’s original members were also jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Putin in a church. The group has since become known to be a symbol of anti-Kremlin direct action.

The pitch invasion briefly broke the fiercely-fought game being watched from the stands by Putin and the French and Croatian presidents, as well as viewed live on television screens by the world.

Croatian defender Dejan Lovren said the rude interruption broke his team’s momentum in the game. He was seen pushing the male intruder aside on the pitch. He later told the media that the interruption came at an important moment for his team.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">It&#39;s OK to talk about the importance of the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PussyRiot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PussyRiot</a> protest, its deepest meanings, its beauty in the face of tyranny… AND address the fact that Croatia were countering with a purpose, trailing 2-1 with France scrambling when the pitch invasion took place. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WorldCupFinal?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WorldCupFinal</a></p>&mdash; Nate Abaurrea (@NateAbaurrea) <a href="https://twitter.com/NateAbaurrea/status/1018990314156015617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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France went on to win the match, 4-2.

Related Coverage: https://thegoldwater.com/news/31341-World-Cup-France-Becomes-World-Champion-Beating-Croatia-4-2-Video

Kurachyova claimed that they pulled off the said shocking stunt ”to promote freedom of speech and condemn policies of FIFA, soccer’s global governing body.”

The protester added that while they consider it a “pity” to have disrupted the deeply-focused and intense sportsmen in the field, she slammed FIFA for being “involved in unfair games.” She added that: “FIFA is a friend of heads of states who carry out repression, who violate human rights.”

Verzilov also said the performance was also meant to show how “the state, in the form of the police, intrudes into people’s lives.”

Social media users gave their reactions on what the group did and the decision against them.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PussyRiot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PussyRiot</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Losers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Losers</a> 👎👎👎 <a href="https://t.co/4gzaKVziJ7">pic.twitter.com/4gzaKVziJ7</a></p>&mdash; Dhruv Krishnan (@krishnan_dhruv) <a href="https://twitter.com/krishnan_dhruv/status/1018992696059465730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The only message they got across is that they’re idiots looking for attention 🙄🙄🙄 15 days is too lenient imho <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PussyRiot?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PussyRiot</a> 👎</p>&mdash; Dhruv Krishnan (@krishnan_dhruv) <a href="https://twitter.com/krishnan_dhruv/status/1018992357126131712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The pitch invasion by Pussy Riot is a capital offence.</p>&mdash; Jinho Choi 🔹 (@GoldenTalon) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoldenTalon/status/1018987414931435520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Source:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-final-invasion-court/world-cup-pussy-riot-pitch-intruders-jailed-for-15-days-idUSKBN1K6278