World Cup: Robbie Williams flips off the camera at the opening ceremony

hey at least there aren't children watching. flip 'em all off, Robbie. pic.twitter.com/RnZQH3Kv6O

— amadí ?? (@amadoit__) June 14, 2018

That’s quite the casual bird-flip, though the effect is a little dampened by his singularly ugly suit.

Williams has been criticized in the United Kingdom for agreeing to perform at the World Cup. The royal family and many British government officials aren’t attending in protest of the poisoning of British spy and Russian informant Sergei Skripal. The UK government has accused the Russian government of poisoning him and his daughter on British soil.

The middle finger could be Williams’ way of protesting … or it could just be a middle finger. If Williams really wanted to protest, he could have performed his song “Party like a Russian,” which mocks Russian oligarchs for stealing money from their own people to fund their lavish lifestyles. I’m sure that would have gone over splendidly with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who may or may not be a secret billionaire.

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Liz Roscher is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.comor follow her on Twitter at @lizroscher.

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