The Crucible Theatre’s famous green baize turned yellow on Monday April 17 at the World Snooker Championship as one of the protestors of Just Stop Oil campaign interrupted the match after jumping on the table and released a packet of powder, halting the play.
Two protestors of 'Just Stop Oil' campaign entered the most prestigious arena in the world of snooker as the play began in the evening session soon after. The first round match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry had to be stopped as one man wearing the movement's slogan on a T-shirt climbed on the table, scattered the balls and threw orange colour on one side of the baize.
A woman also tried to glue herself with the baize on table two where Mark Allen and Fan Zhengyi match was taking place. But, the match referee Olivier Marteel intervened and stopped the woman climbing on table two.
Both the protestors were taken away by the security and there was a stoppage in the play as the mess was getting cleaned up. After 45 minutes stoppage, the play resumed in the Allen-Zhengyi match as the Belfast born won the tie and secured a second round match with the England born Stuart Bingham. But, the affected table of Milkins-Perry was covered and had to be re-clothed overnight.
Former World champion Stephen Hendry, who was on commentary duties for BBC, feels it was a 'scary' incident and the cloth of Milkins-Perry table might not be used again in the future. “For me,” Hendry said, “straight away as a snooker player I am thinking, ‘Is the table recoverable?’ We don’t know what that is on the table.”
Just Stop Oil campaign issued a statement where they mentioned that both the protestors were removed from the crucible and had been further arrested. "Two supporters of Just Stop Oil have disrupted the World Snooker Championship, climbing onto the snooker tables and throwing paint over one. They are demanding that the government stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to join in civil resistance against the government's genocidal policies," the group said.
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