Russian band that ran onto the field at the 2018 World Cup final gets 15 days in jail

A woman even raised her hand to cheer Mbappe before being escorted off the field by security personnel.

According to Reuters, a court in Moscow (Russia) on July 16 convicted the Pussy Riot group of intentionally sabotaging the world's largest sporting event hosted by the country, in front of President Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials in the world. In addition to the 15-day prison sentence, the four members were also banned from attending sporting events for the next 3 years.

Specifically, the four harassers, including three women: Nika Nikulshina, Olga Kurachyova, Olga Pakhtusova and a man named Pyotr Verzilov, violated the rules for fans at sports tournaments. The group entered the stadium area without permission while being reminded and warned by security. In addition, they were illegally wearing police uniforms.

A female member high-fives French player Kylian Mbappe.

The man who obstructed the match was dragged out by Dejan Lovren.

Previously, on July 15, in the 52nd minute of the 2018 World Cup final, when Croatia was trailing 1-2 to France, a group of people ran around the field. A female member tried to approach and high-five French midfielder Kylian Mbappe before being escorted out. After that, the only male member also broke into the playing area. Croatian defender Dejan Lovren was angry at the "uninvited guest". The Liverpool player grabbed this person, then threw him down before signaling him to leave the area where the "fiery" match was taking place. After the incident, Dejan Lovren expressed his anger to reporters: "At that time, I just wished I could throw him out of the stadium."

Justifying their actions, the band Pussy Riot said that this was just one of the moves within the group's ongoing protest for freedom of speech. They were dragged onto the field by the players and were not there of their own free will. However, what the cameras recorded did not match their explanation. Pussy Riot did not have the right to hire a lawyer to appeal after this noisy incident.

As France were leading Croatia 2-1, four fans wearing white shirts, ties and police badges stormed the Luzhniki Stadium.

At the trial, Veronika Nikulshina, one of the four rioters, told reporters: "It's a pity that we interrupted the players' play. FIFA intervened and made the matches unfair...".

Pussy Riot rose to fame from an anti-Putin protest inside Moscow's largest cathedral in 2012, in which three participants were arrested and jailed.

The only man involved in the harassment at this year's World Cup final was the husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of three Pussy Riot members jailed in 2012.