A man and a woman have been arrested after a Just Stop Oil protester jumped onto a snooker table and covered it in orange powder.
Robert Milkins was playing the opening shots of his World Snooker Championship match against fellow Englishman Joe Perry at The Crucible when the disruption happened.
Perry was just about to take his turn before a man ran onto the snooker table and disrupted play.
He could be seen wearing a white shirt that had ‘Just Stop Oil’ written on it, before throwing the orange powder onto the table.
Another protester could be seen on the adjacent game, but she was stopped in their tracks by security before getting onto the table.
The protesters were held backstage by security until the police arrived.
“Two people were detained after protesters gained entry to The Crucible earlier this evening (Monday 17 April),” South Yorkshire Police later released a statement.
“A 30-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Both are in police custody.”
A tweet from Just Stop Oil said: “At around 7:20pm, two Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the World Snooker Championship at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, interrupting play.
“The pair proceeded to cover the tables in orange powder paint before being removed by security and arrested.
“They are demanding that the government immediately stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to step into in civil resistance against the Government’s genocidal policies.”
Mark Allen was also taking on Fan Zhengyi at the time and were escorted from the arena in Sheffield before their play resumed, with Milkins and Perry set to return to action later on in the evening.
Milkins and Perry’s opening session will now be played on Tuesday evening, when their second session had been scheduled. Their concluding session will be played on Thursday morning.
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, commentating for television, called the incident ‘scary’. “I have never seen that before at a snooker event. It’s a first.”
It isn’t the first time the group, who call to halt the licensing and production of new fossil fuels, have disrupted sporting events.
One protester caused a delay in Everton’s clash against Newcastle at Goodison Park last season by attaching his neck to a goalpost with a cable tie.
Forest Green Rovers owner Dale Vince told talkSPORT that he helped fund the protestors when they targeted Premier League fixtures.
Last summer’s British Grand Prix was also affected, with Just Stop Oil members running onto the Silverstone track before being dragged off by marshals.
The start of last weekend’s Grand National was delayed by animal rights protesters trying to make their way onto the course. Police made 118 arrests with 65 of those being taken into custody.
