A social media influencer who invaded the pitch during Belgium’s World Cup game against Senegal has revealed he spent five hours behind bars for the attention-seeking stunt.
Dwarf Joshua Kravchenko, who has over 150,000 followers on Instagram, wreaked havoc in Seattle when he and three friends hopped the barriers and forced the game to be stopped.
While his friends made it onto the field, he appeared to be grabbed by multiple security officers before he could get beyond the white lines, and he was quickly dragged away from the action.
His friends, meanwhile, had to be tackled by security, with one evading multiple officials before eventually being clattered to the turf.
It appears their ill-advised actions landed them some pretty severe consequences, with Kravchenko later posting a photo of himself being hauled away by security, alongside the caption: ‘Straight to jail for five hours.’
It is also anticipated that the group will receive a lengthy ban from FIFA – and also perhaps Lumen Field – but that is as yet unclear.
Joshua Kravchenko appeared to be stopped by security before even making it onto the pitch
Photographers captured the moment he was dragged away and thrown into jail after the stunt
He later posted on social media that he spent five hours behind bars after hopping the barriers
All four of the streakers wore Belgium shirts, but they are understood to be Americans who had just elected to support the European nation at the game.
Before kick-off, Kravchenko showed off what appeared to be a hospitality lanyard, but it is unclear if he had paid to be there, and if so how much.
The influencer previously shot to ‘fame’ over 10 years ago when he was filmed reacting to one of his friend’s scooter tricks, using the now-infamous line ‘that was legitness’. The Vine reportedly accrued over 42 million views.
It is not known why exactly the foursome attempted to invade the pitch, but at least two – including Kravchenko – appeared to be wearing t-shirts promoting a betting company.
Before the game, he and his friends had shared a video of them looking excited for the game
Another of the pitch invaders lost his glasses and was clattered by security, all while filming it
Another of the group ripped off his Belgium shirt to reveal a t-shirt that read: ‘Asians can too’
When the game could eventually continue after the stoppage – which came when Senegal were 1-0 up – it became one of the best matches of the tournament.
In what will surely be a point of frustration for Kravchenko and his friends, they missed a remarkable comeback from Belgium, who were 2-0 down and went on to win 3-2 with a last-gasp extra-time goal to go through.
The Europeans will now face the United States in the last-16 round of the tournament, with the game again taking place in Seattle.
