Protesters from the group Just Stop Oil caused a stoppage in play at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield on the evening of April 18. The two individuals disrupted two matches by jumping onto tables and releasing orange dye. The first protestor interrupted the match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry, while a second was prevented from interfering with the game between Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi on table two. The quick-thinking response of referee Olivier Marteel prevented the woman from causing damage to the table.
Play was immediately suspended, and staff brought vacuum cleaners into the arena. Master of ceremonies Rob Walker was among those who helped to clean up the mess. The damaged table will be reclothed overnight, and a decision on whether to resume the other match will be taken after the match on table two is completed.
South Yorkshire Police arrested a 52-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman on suspicion of criminal damage. Both are in custody. Just Stop Oil’s official Twitter page posted a video of the incident and said that the group demanded that the government immediately halt all new UK fossil fuel projects. They are also calling on UK sporting institutions to take action against the government’s alleged genocidal policies.
Former world champion Stephen Hendry, who was on commentary duties for the BBC, said that he had never seen anything like the protest before at a snooker event. He also expressed concern over whether the table could be recovered.
