Former Raiders player Mark McLinden has been identified as the pitch invader who disrupted the NRL grand final on Sunday.
McLinden jumped the fence and ran onto the playing field during the second half of the game between Parramatta and Penrith at Olympic Park.
He wore a yellow shirt with the words "end coal, gas and oil" on the front, and "for our kids" on the back. He appeared to be wearing a bike lock around his neck.
The former Canberra player tore Telstra-branded padding off a goal post before he was tackled by security.
A NSW Police statement said McLinden was arrested and issued an infringement notice for entering a competition playing field.
"A 43-year-old man from Mullumbimby was arrested after he allegedly entered the southern end of the playing field and dragged one of the pads from a goal post," the statement said.
"He was removed from the field by security before being arrested by police; he's has been issued with an infringement notice for enter competition playing field."
Some man just ran onto the pitch and tried to tear off the padding on the goalposts. #NRLGF pic.twitter.com/2cGNmsgNgP
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) October 2, 2022
Minutes before he went on the field on Sunday, McLinden posted a call for action on Facebook.
"The world's climate scientists have concluded that the continuing burning of coal, gas and oil is causing catastrophic ecosystem loss and climate change," he wrote.
"As a result, the stable climate that humans have enjoyed for the last 10,000 years is becoming unstable before our eyes.
"The floods, fires, heatwaves and droughts will only get worse unless we stand up against the fossil fuel industry and demand that they pay for the carbon they emit. In addition, they must phase out its use to be replaced with renewable energy far quicker than governments have allowed.
"Climate scientists are turning to activism due to the lack of action from governments. I stand for science. I stand with scientists, and have joined them in activism. I encourage you to do the same. Our kids and grandkids are relying on it."
McLinden played 165 games for the Raiders between 1998 and 2004.
If you listened to this week's Episode #200 then you heard about the Mark McLinden video. But you can't prepare yourself like it's beaty. Much like a 100m McLinden try in the early 2000's. This will blow your mind (1/2) pic.twitter.com/II9uMiy05c
— Green Machine Podcast (@GreenMachinePod) July 8, 2022
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