An unexpected incident occurred in the opening minutes of the Basel vs. Schalke match, a Champions League group stage game. Greenpeace activists descended by rappelling from the stadium roof and unfurled a banner calling for the protection of the Arctic and protesting against Gazprom, the competition’s main sponsor.
The referee was forced to stop play for several minutes as security staff intervened to remove the activists from the pitch area. UEFA president Michel Platini, who was also present in the stands at St. Jakob-Park, witnessed the incident.