FIFA World Cup: Punk Band Pussy Riot Invade Pitch During Final

Russian protest group and Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the pitch invasion during the World Cup final.

Croatia’s Dejan Lovren and a steward grab a man who invaded the pitch during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. 

(Photo: AP)

Authorities in Moscow have charged members of the punk protest group Pussy Riot with "violation of spectators' rights" and illegally wearing police symbols when they ran onto the field during the World Cup final.

The Interfax news agency reported late Sunday that the four could face penalties of up to 11,500 rubles ($185) or 160 hours of community service.

Pussy Riot had claimed responsibility for four people who had run onto the pitch during the FIFA World Cup final in Moscow on Sunday night, briefly halting play.

The three women and one man were tackled to the ground by stewards. Croatia defender Dejan Lovren pushed the man, helping a steward to detain him. Before being hauled away, one of the women managed to reach the center of the field and share a double high-five with France forward Kylian Mbappe.

Security stewards remove people who ran onto the pitch and briefly stopped the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

Croatia’s Dejan Lovren grabs a man who invaded the pitch during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

Croatia’s Dejan Lovren gestures to a person who invaded the pitch, bottom, during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

"Hello everyone from the Luzhniki field, it's great here," the heavily political punk band said on Twitter , and released a statement calling for the freeing of political prisoners, an end to "illegal arrests" of protesters and to "allow political competition" in Russia.

Their statement also referenced the case of Oleg Sentsov, a vocal opponent of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, who was sentenced in 2015 to 20 years for conspiracy to commit terror acts. He denies the charges and has been on a hunger strike since mid-May.

The group said the police uniforms symbolized how Russian police's actions fall short of their "heavenly" depiction in literature and called for reforms. It wasn't clear if they used the uniforms as a ruse to enter the Luzhniki Stadium amid tight security, and the group couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

"The citizens in question were taken to the local police station," the Moscow branch of the Russian Interior Ministry said, without providing further details.

A woman who invaded the pitch approaches France’s Kylian Mbappe during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

A steward runs after two people that invaded the pitch during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

France’s Raphael Varane, top, and France’s Samuel Umtiti look at two people that invaded the pitch during the final match between France and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 15, 2018. (Photo: AP)

Pussy Riot rose to global prominence with their daring outdoor performances critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2012 that sent two members to prison for nearly two years. Putin was watching the game alongside his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The group was previously known for wearing brightly colored balaclavas, though those who protested Sunday did so with their faces uncovered.