A climate change protester tied himself to a goalpost during a soccer game Thursday evening between Newcastle United F.C. and Everton F.C., halting the game for eight minutes.
The activist was carried off the field from the Everton goal and then Meyerside police arrested him, The Mirror reported.
Everton’s win over Newcastle was halted when a protester became zip-tied to a goalpost 😳https://t.co/gqdz3nysNa pic.twitter.com/OSEZl3QJ6f
— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) March 17, 2022
“At around 8.55p.m. it was reported that a man disrupted the match by running on to the pitch and tying himself to the goal post at the Howard Kendall Gwladys Street End,” according to an official statement from Meyerside police, The Mirror reported. “The suspect, a 21-year-old man, has been arrested on suspicion of pitch encroachment. He is now in police custody.”
The protester’s name is Louis McKechnie, a mechanical engineering student, according to a video posted on Just Stop Oil’s Facebook page. (RELATED: Climate Protesters Take To The White House, Demand Biden Follow Through With Campaign Promises)
“I’m about to disrupt a football match, and I’m terrified,” the protester said in the video. “But I believe as many people as possible need to know what a possible future holds. Billions of people not knowing if they should stay in their homes or if they leave where they can go as countries become too hot to live in. Mass starvation due to crop failure, it’s fighting for bread in the bakery aisle of Morrisons. The cost of living crisis, COVID and the war in Ukraine are showcasing this future.”
“I want my government to do all they can to stop this coming true,” he continued. “But they are expanding oil and gas, making things worse, increasing the risk. We know this because the International Energy Agency told us no new oil and gas from 2021. If governments are serious about this action on climate. We are calling on ordinary people to join thousands in mass civil resistance this spring. Hundreds and hundreds of people of all ages have signed up to support the demand of no new oil and gas. Just stop oil. It’s a no-brainer first step to stop the harm.”