Greenpeace protest stops Champions League game
Tuesday’s Champions League match between Basel and Schalke was halted when protesters abseiled down the main stand and unfurled a huge banner in support of Greenpeace.
The banner read “Gazprom, Don’t Foul the Arctic” and the hashtag “FreeTheArctic30.”
The incident was particularly embarrassing for the watching UEFA president Michel Platini, as Gazprom not only sponsor Bundesliga outfit Schalke, but are also an official partner of the Champions League.
The Arctic 30 refers to the activists Russian authorities arrested in September, who were protesting Gazprom’s drilling in the ocean. Officers allegedly attacked the activists while holding them at gunpoint before they were held prisoner at embassies throughout the country, according to Jonathan Brown of The Independent.
The match, held in Swiss side Basel’s home field, was delayed for five minutes.
