2018 World Cup final: Pitch invaders interrupt France vs. Croatia match in Russia
How did this many people even get on the pitch?
Apparently Luzhniki Stadium had a slight lapse of security during its World Cup final match between France and Croatia. In the second half with France leading 2-1 and Croatia advancing the ball up the final third, a posse of pitch invaders interrupted the match before quickly being accosted and dragged -- not so nicely -- off the pitch.
Because if there's one country you want to embarrass on a national stage with its president in attendance, it's Russia.
What the actual...
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) July 15, 2018
Putin must be fuming.
Here the all action after pitch invasion, as you didn’t see on tv pic.twitter.com/c0v2E7TIh4
The real question is, how in the world do this many people even get on the field? For what it's worth, Russian protest performance group Pussy Riot claimed responsibility shortly after the invaders stormed the field. The feminist punk rock group out of Moscow took to social media to post a statement regarding the invasion.
While fans on Twitter were certainly amused by the incident, there was an underlying annoyance that people would think this is a good idea at the biggest soccer match in the world.
THIS. ALL THIS 🙌 pic.twitter.com/tOtCx39owk
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 15, 2018
We’ve got some runners! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dFtRGeq20P
— Daniel Sallerson (@dsallerson) July 15, 2018
Russia is among the last countries I would want to pitch-invade but this World Cup really has it all huh
— Arielle Castillo (@ariellec) July 15, 2018
I can’t wait until the robots replace us https://t.co/Hjmxs9LHdI
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) July 15, 2018
There was like FOUR fans on the field. How does that even happen?
— Chris Barnewall (@ChrisBarnewall) July 15, 2018
people are dumb
— Sean Wagner-McGough (@seanjwagner) July 15, 2018
This #WorldCupFinal has had everything so far:
— SB Nation (@SBNation) July 15, 2018
- Own goals
- People bleeding from the neck
- FANS ON THE FIELD pic.twitter.com/eSOjrDXa1L
Not sure we’ll be seeing those pitch invaders again. Ever. Anywhere.
— Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) July 15, 2018
Four pitch invaders in uniforms unceremoniously being dragged away. #WorldCupFinal
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) July 15, 2018
Who knows why anyone thought that this was a good idea. Rushing the field is always stupid, and fans don't even enjoy it, especially in a sport like soccer where things are relatively nonstop.
Luckily, the disruption was minimal and their 15 seconds of fame was more like five seconds. Both teams were visibly annoyed by the situation, with Croatia's Dejan Lovren reacting to one of them himself, but play resumed shortly after.
















