Russia accidentally raise another £40,000 for LGBT causes during shock World Cup victory over Spain
Paddy Power's #RainbowRussians campaign has already raised £130,000 for the Attitude Magazine Foundation.
By Will Stroude
Russia has made it through to the quarter-finals of the Fifa World Cup for the first time since 1970 – and there’s plenty of reason to celebrate.
Our accidental allies raised another £40,000 for LGBT+ causes during their shock victory over 2010 champions Spain on Sunday afternoon (July), as Paddy Power doubled their donation for each goal scored to £20,000 as part of their ‘From Russia with Equal Love’ campaign with Attitude.
An own goal from Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich put Spain 1-0 up in the 12th minute, but Paddy Power decided to reward the Russian squad’s misfortune by counting it towards the overall total, which already stood at £90,000 following their three group stage matches.
Spain score.
But it was an Own Goal by a Russian…
So f*ck it – we’re counting that and donating another £20,000 to LGBT+ causes!
Current total stands at £110,000! #RainbowRussians 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/r6y0SWRTBU
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 1, 2018
A penalty for Russia before half-time gave Artem Dzyuba another chance to score one for equality, netting another £20,000 and bringing the overall total raised by the #RainbowRussians for the Attitude Magazine Foundation to a colossal £130,000 – almost three times the promised minimum donation of £50,000 made by Paddy Power at the start of the tournament.
With the score deadlocked after extra-time, Russia went on to sensationally win the match 4-3 on a penalty shoot-out – and while penalties don’t count towards to the total, it does mean that Russia will have even more chances to score when they face off against Croatia in Saturday’s (July 7) quarter-final in Sochi.
🇷🇺🙌😁👌
The moment hosts Russia booked a place in the #WorldCup quarter-finals…
Those celebrations 👌🎥 Highlights 👉 https://t.co/LOdKDX2Cwn
📺 TV listings 👉 https://t.co/xliHcxWvEO pic.twitter.com/UnAD5VBQUh— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) July 1, 2018
As Russia scored, these were the scenes from the PP-hosted ‘Russian Rally’ in Ku Bar in London, celebrating another £20,000 donation: #RainbowRussians 🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/FRQPvNgvQq
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) July 1, 2018
It’s already been announced that Ryan Atkin, England’s first openly gay EFL professional referee, is to mentor 20 LGBT+ individuals en route to becoming FA-qualified match officials with just some of the money raised by the #RainbowRussians campaign.
Plenty more beneficiaries set to be announced over the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime, keep on cheering for Russia as they accidentally help support LGBT+ people during their best World Cup showing in five decades.