Wimbledon: Just Stop Oil protesters cause two major disruptions

Three individuals were arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted play at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club on Wednesday. Two interruptions took place on court 18 when protesters scattered orange confetti, glitter and jigsaw puzzle pieces on the court.

Two protesters targeted the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro while another Just Stop Oil activist interrupted Katie Boulter's match against Daria Saville. One woman and two men were arrested, but have so far been unnamed. Not much is known about the individuals but it is clear that they were working together under the Just Stop Oil movement.

The environmental protest group took to its own social media accounts to claim responsibility. "Just Stop Oil have disrupted Wimbledon for the second time today, demanding Government to immediately halt all new oil and gas in the UK," read the caption to one of the posts showing a video of one of the protesters spreading orange confetti.

Apart from the confetti and glitter, pieces of a jigsaw puzzle were also scattered. Upon closer inspection, they appear to have come from the Wimbledon "Centre Court View" jigsaw puzzle that is being sold at the tournament merchandise shops on site. According to the BBC, organisers have now decided to stop selling the puzzles temporarily.

Fans were clearly not happy about the interruptions, especially after having already experienced multiple delays. Ticketholders have been forced to queue for hours due to enhanced security checks into the venue, but protesters have still managed to penetrate.

Furthermore, rain delays since the start of the week meant that fans have had to wait around for many more hours than usual, making them even more impatient in the face of further interruptions caused by the activists. It came as no surprise that the protesters were met with loud booing from the crowd.

Marshals and venue security did their best to peacefully remove the protesters as quickly as possible, even though they had to be physically removed from the court. British number one Boulter and her opponent were even seen helping the staff pick up the confetti to hasten the clean up.

Just Stop Oil claimed that their confetti was environmentally friendly after facing criticism for littering the grounds with debris and what seemed to be plastic-backed jigsaw puzzle pieces.

Wimbledon is not the only sporting event to be affected

Apart from Wimbledon, Just Stop Oil has been wreaking havoc at other high profile events in recent months. Last week, protesters connected with the group interrupted an Ashes cricket test at Lord's. They did this by attempting to spread orange powder on the wicket. The same powder has previously been used to vandalise property and art works as a form of protest.

The rugby union Premiership final and the World Snooker Championship did not escape the protests, which is why security was already tightened around Wimbledon. Unfortunately, fans were inconvenienced at the gates but protesters still managed to penetrate the venue.

The All England Club has confirmed that the activists have been arrested "on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the grounds."

Government reacts to the protests

According to the BBC, Home secretary Suella Braverman called the protesters "selfish" and dubbed their actions "unacceptable." She has hosted a meeting with sports organisations and discussions have been made about how further disruptions could be prevented.

While recognising the right to peaceful protest, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer emphasised that "does not give licence to a vocal minority to spoil events that millions of us enjoy."

Dimitrov, whose victory over Shimabukuro was interrupted during the second set, thinks that the organisers handled the situation as well as they possibly could have. "Everyone in a way did their part as quick as possible," he said, adding that the rain delay immediately afterwards helped him shake off the distraction.

Boulter meanwhile, questioned if it was the right place and time for the protests even though she admitted that she sympathises with the group's cause. "When I think back to people who have sat here... 30 hours trying to watch tennis, it's really tough on them. I'm pretty sure there will be a reaction to what's been happening and there will be more security in place or whatever they need to do to ensure that it doesn't happen again."