WIMBLEDON: Two environmental activists from 'Just Stop Oil' ran onto one of the courts during the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Wednesday and disrupted a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro, by throwing confetti onto the grass.
The protesters made it onto the field of play at Court 18 and proceeded to scatter jigsaw puzzle pieces and orange-colour confetti.
One of the protestors sat down in the middle of the court wearing a 'Just Stop Oil' t-shirt, before being taken away by security officials.
The play was suspended by rain before the debris was cleared from the court.
BREAKING: Just Stop Oil Disrupt @Wimbledon “Once more, orange clouds hang over a British sporting event this summer—this time it’s ticker tape rather than paint dust, but it is an intrusion and will need sorting out.” Sign up to take action at https://t.co/7BzUVS02dZ pic.twitter.com/2iaoo6GNdO
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 5, 2023The All England Club increased its security in coordination with London police and other agencies for this year's tournament, in part as a result of protests at other major sports venues in Britain this year.
English tennis player Andy Murray before the start of the Grand Slam tournament had said that it was highly likely that 'Just Stop Oil' protesters will cause significant disruptions to Wimbledon 2023.
Murray added that he agrees with the cause that 'Just Stop Oil' is working for, but suggested that the protestors should spread the message through alternative methods to communicate effectively, instead of disruptive methods.
The incident happened just a little over a week after another major sporting event was disrupted in England by the protestors.
Last week, two protestors from the 'Just Stop Oil' group ran onto the field at Lords and briefly disrupted play about five minutes after the start of the second Ashes cricket test between England and Australia.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
