'Shame on you': Robbie Williams excoriated for headlining World Cup opening ceremony
London: For Robbie Williams, Thursday's World Cup opening ceremony will fulfil a boyhood dream, but for those on the frontline trying to combat Russian President Vladimir Putin's hybrid warfare, Williams will be "selling his soul" to a "dictator".
Bill Browder, a campaigner for global sanctions against the Russians who murdered his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky in 2009, says Williams will be legitimising Putin's increasing aggressiveness if he takes to the stage.
"There’s lots of ways to make money Robbie Williams, but selling your soul to a dictator shouldn’t be one of them," Mr Browder wrote on Twitter.
"Shame on you.
"This message is on behalf of Sergei Magnitsky, Boris Nemtsov, Anna Politkovskaya, Natalia Estimirova, victims of MH17, 10,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers..." Mr Browder said.
Since Russia was awarded the rights to the tournament in 2010, it has annexed Crimea, been booted out of the G7, accused of complicity in the downing of MH17 in which 38 Australians were killed, accused of meddling in the US election and is held responsible for the attempted novichok poisoning of Russian defector Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, in England.
Robbie Williams has not responded to the criticisms.
In an online video announcing his performance, the Party Like a Russian singer said he was excited to be returning to Russia.
"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," he said.
Russian soprano Aida Garifullina will perform with Williams for a "special, one-off duet" during his performance.
In 2016, Ukrainian hackers released an email showing Russian oligarch Roman Abromovich, the owner of the Chelsea football club, paid Williams to entertain 100 guests, many of whom were considered part of Putin's inner circle.
Abramovich has recently experienced difficulties obtaining a visa to live in Britain. The government has signalled it could go after the Russian oligarchs who reside in London, as a way of targeting Putin.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop briefly floated the idea of Australia boycotting the World Cup after former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was poisoned with a nerve grade agent earlier this year.
But neither Australia nor Britain is boycotting the World Cup which kicks off on Thursday afternoon local time. However members of Britain's royal family and senior ministers who might have been expected to be filmed and photographed attending England matches will not be attending.