Pussy Riot associate Pyotr Verzilov, member Veronika Nikulshina and an unnamed Ukrainian member were stopped seconds before entering the pitch during the match between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium in the Qatar capital.

They had planned to storm the field to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the oppression of women in Iran, the Berlin-based Cinema for Peace Foundation announced.

"When I texted with Pyotr, he was in police detention," Cinema for Peace founder Jaka Bizilj told international news agency Reuters.

Security officers detained the three activists near the Argentina national team's bench, the German daily Die Welt reported.

Verzilov told the independent Mediazona news website, where he is publisher, that the group was released from detention later in the evening after the end of the final, won by Argentina 4-2 on penalties following a 3-3 draw at the end of extra-time.

At an earlier match in the tournament between Iran and the United States on November 29, Pussy Riot members appeared in the stands wearing tee-shirts reading "Woman Life Freedom" and the names of Iranian women allegedly arrested for protesting about their treatment in the country.

Four years ago, at the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Moscow between France and Croatia, members of Pussy Riot, including Verzilov and Nikulshina, ran onto the field at the Luzhniki Stadium wearing police uniforms to protest police brutality.

Russian authorities sentenced the group members to 15 days of arrest for the act.

Cinema for Peace evacuated Verzilov from Russia after the 2018 World Cup to be treated for suspected poisoning.

The Russian Embassy in Doha claimed they had not been informed about any members of Pussy Riot being arrested in Qatar.

"No one from Pussy Riot has contacted us," a spokesman told Russia’s official state news agency TASS.

"We have not received official confirmation from the Qatari authorities."