London/Moscow — British popstar Robbie Williams appeared to
tell critics that he performed at Thursday's opening ceremony of the
football World Cup "for free," showing his middle finger to a live
television camera.
"I did it for free," Williams sang as he moved close to a camera
during "Rock DJ," making his one-fingered gesture in a possible
response to accusations that he had accepted Russian government money
for singing at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Williams and Russian opera soprano Aida Garifullina teamed up for a
duet in a 15-minute ceremony ahead of the opening match between hosts
Russia and Saudi Arabia, singing Williams' hit "Angels" as Russian
President Vladimir Putin and other dignitaries watched.
Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management and an
outspoken critic of Putin, was among those who had criticized
Williams.
"In addition to legitimizing Putin by performing at the World Cup,
@robbiewilliams performed for Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and
Roman Abramovich in Russia in the past," Browder tweeted on
Wednesday.
Williams also performed his hits "Let Me Entertain You" and "Feel" in
Thursday's ceremony before the Russian and Saudi Arabian teams
entered the pitch for the first of 64 matches.
He said earlier that he was "happy and excited to be going back to
Russia for such a unique performance."
"I've done a lot in my career, and opening the FIFA World Cup to
80,000 football fans in the stadium and many millions all over the
world is a boyhood dream," Williams said on his official website.