On Monday, a “Just Stop Oil” protester jumped onto one of the tables at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield, England, and spilled orange dye all over the table.
Play was suspended after the 30-year-old protester interrupted a match between Robert Milkins and Joe Perry by jumping on the table and covering half of it in orange powder.
The moment a “Just Stop Oil” protestor climbs the table and disrupts the Perry vs Milkins match. #WorldSnookerChampionship #Snooker #Crucible pic.twitter.com/Gnal3sbUR9
— Steve (@MaximumSnooker) April 17, 2023
As seen in the video, another protester attempted to jump on a different table but was stopped by a referee.
“For me, straight away as a snooker player I am thinking, ‘Is the table recoverable?’ We don’t know what that is on the table,” said former snooker world champion Stephen Hendry via the Associated Press.
Just Stop Oil took to Twitter to take credit for the protests.
🎱 NEW OIL AND GAS WILL SNOOKER US
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… pic.twitter.com/xWJXjW82jf
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) April 17, 2023
CAN YOU BLAME THEM FOR TRYING?
Ὀ We know new oil and gas will kill millions, but the UK government is licensing 100+ new fossil fuel projects.
Why would ordinary people not try everything in their power to stop that?#SnookerWorldChampionship #JustStopOil #TheBigOne #UK pic.twitter.com/OaXWjawzrj
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) April 17, 2023
“They are demanding that the government immediately stop all new UK fossil fuel projects and are calling on UK sporting institutions to step into civil resistance against the government’s genocidal policies,” the activist group said.
The table in the Milkens-Perry match required repair, so that match will not be able to resume until tomorrow at the earliest.
“Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a billiards table, called a baize, where 22 balls — the white cue ball, 15 red and six others that are yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black — each account for points,” Fox News reports.