Moscow: The World Cup final between France and Croatia in Moscow was briefly interrupted when three intruders affiliated to anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot ran onto the pitch before being hauled off by stewards.

The pitch invaders, who were dressed in police-style outfits, were later detained by police, one of them told a news agency by telephone from a police station near Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, venue for the match.

Three of Pussy Riot's original members were jailed in 2012 for staging a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in a church, and since then have become a symbol of anti-Kremlin direct action.

In the second half of the match, three people wearing white shirts with police-style epaulettes, black trousers and police hats ran out onto the pitch from the area behind the French goal. A fourth person tried to run onto the pitch but was tackled on the sidelines.

The three people were able to run about 50 metres, dispersing in different directions, before stewards wearing high-visibility jackets tackled them to the ground and then dragged them off the pitch.

Dejan Lovren attempted to drag on off the pitch himself before the stewards dealt with them.

The match was halted, but resumed about 25 seconds later. A witness at the stadium said he had seen police escorting the pitch invaders out of the stadium grounds.

Olga Kurachyova, a member of Pussy Riot, said by telephone she was one of the pitch invaders, and was being held at Luzhniki police station, near the stadium. She said she could not talk further because police were trying to take her mobile phone away from her.

"ALERT! Right now: four members of Pussy Riot take part in the final of the soccer World Cup," Pussy Riot said on their Twitter account, which is described as being run by band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.

"Hello everyone from the Luzhniki pitch, it's cool here!" Pussy Riot wrote almost immediately after the incident.

In a post on the Pussy Riot Facebook page, the group said the pitch invasion was intended to bring attention to what they said were human rights abuses in Russia.

They said: "LIGHTNING! Right now - the four members of Pussy Riot in the finals of the World Cup: "The Miller comes into play" on the World Championship!

"Pussy Riot in the finals of the World Championship - 'The militiaman enters the Game'

"Today, 11 years, the great Russian poet Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov died. Prigov created in Russian culture the image of the Militarist, the bearer of heavenly statehood.

"Heavenly policeman, according to Prigov, talks on his radio with God himself. The militia officer fabricates criminal cases. While the celestial militiaman gently watches the fans at the World Championship, the ground policeman prepares to disperse rallies. Heavenly policeman affectionately touches the flower in the field and rejoices in the victories of the Russian team, and the earthly policeman is indifferent to the hunger strike of Oleg Sentsov. Heavenly policeman - rises as an example of statehood, an earthly policeman - makes everyone hurt.

"Heavenly policeman protects the baby's sleep, while the policeman on the ground persecutes political prisoners, planting them for reposts and huskies.

"Heavenly policeman is the organiser of the wonderful carnival of the World Championship, an earthly policeman is afraid of a holiday. Heavenly policeman carefully monitors the observance of the rules of the game, an Earth policeman enters the game, regardless of the rules.

"The World Championships recalled the possibility of a heavenly policeman in the beautiful future of Russia, but every day a landless policeman entering the game without rules destroys our world."

"When an Earth policeman comes into play we demand:

Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker, was jailed for 20 years in 2015 after being found guilty of setting fire to two offices in Crimea, including one belonging to Russia's ruling party, after Moscow annexed the territory from Ukraine.

In the Facebook post, Pussy Riot said their demands included freeing political prisoners, freedom of speech on the internet, freedom to protest, and allowing political competition.

Pussy Riot gained global visibility for a controversial concert held in 2012 inside a Moscow cathedral, which was condemned as sacrilegious by Orthodox church authorities.

Three group members were subsequently arrested and sentenced to prison terms on religious hatred charges, a verdict that was slammed by human rights campaigners.

The band also performed during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, before being forcefully stopped by security officials.

The pitch invasion was the first significant security lapse in the five-week tournament that has won hosts Russia widespread praise for their good organisation and efficiency.

Reuters

THE INVASION

The France-Croatia World Cup final was interrupted when intruders ran on to the pitch. While intruder Nos. 1, 2 
and 3 ran for about 50 metres before being dragged out of the pitch, the fourth was tackled on the sidelines