he second half of Everton’s Premier League meeting with Newcastle was barely five minutes old when the game was stopped after a protester tied himself to the goalpost at the Gwladys Street End and was only removed after half-a-dozen people and bolt croppers were deployed.
Similar scenes almost happened during Arsenal’s hosting of Liverpool on Wednesday night, though this protest was far more successful.
Images broadcast on Amazon Prime showed the protester chained to the goalpost as stewards attempted to cut him free with bolt cutters, causing a lengthy delay to the game.
The protester appeared to have a t-shirt with the logo ‘Just Stop Oil’ printed across the front. Once they were freed from the post, they attempted to sit almost on the goalline, invoking the ire of sections of the crowd.
Stewards then carried the protester off of the pitch in footage that has been shared across social media.
A Twitter account claiming to be connected with the protester – Just Stop Oil – wrote: “ This evening, Louis, a 21 year-old supporter of Just Stop Oil, locked on to the goalpost at Goodison Park wearing a Just Stop Oil t-shirt, causing the referee to briefly stop play.”