A GREEK Cypriot football fan is likely to go on trial in Capetown on Friday for trespassing, after he strayed into the England football team’s changing room after last Friday’s match against Algeria.
Pavlos Joseph, 32, from South London, left the stands in search of a toilet shortly after the match, passing several security officers unchallenged before he happened across the changing room of the beleaguered England team.
Joseph, a mortgage adviser, told the Mirror football magazine that he was pointed towards the changing room by a security guard. “I found myself lost after the 90 minutes looking for a toilet. I asked one of the security guards and he pointed in the direction of the tunnel. I passed several security officers, continued walking. No one had asked me any questions or stopped me.”
After a few minutes of wandering around the tunnels without being stopped, Joseph said he happened across the changing room, where he saw Joe Cole step out of the shower naked, and former England captain David Beckham, who moments earlier had met with British Princes William and Harry.
“I assumed no players were still there after their abysmal performance. I passed one of the England coaches… and then I found myself in the middle of the changing room. David Beckham was directly front of me.”
Sensing his opportunity, Joseph decided to confront Beckham over the team’s dire performance earlier that night.
He said: “I wanted to make the most of this opportunity to tell him how frustrated us England fans were. I said to him ‘David, we’ve spent a lot of money coming out here, that was a disgrace what are you going to do about it.’ He looked at me in surprise; he was stunned and didn’t know what to say.”
“I told them ‘That was woeful and not good enough’. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The players’ chins were on their chests – they looked pretty ashamed.”
Before Beckham had the chance to answer, a FIFA official approached Joseph and asked him who he was, to which he said “I’m Pavlos and I’m just looking for a toilet.”
According to a BBC report, Beckham said that the fan merely said hello, and that he was calm throughout the encounter. Beckham said “The actual fan literally just walked in very casually and just said something to me and then walked out – there was no scuffle, there was no aggression at all.”
After their conversation, the FIFA official escorted Joseph to the nearest toilet in the main public area, and they exchanged business cards. Before departing Joseph commented on the “shocking” mood in the changing room, to which the official replied “you should have been in there at half time.”
Following the incident, Joseph was arrested, charged with trespassing and ordered to post bail of 500 Rand (€54). He is likely to stand trial on Friday for breaking a trespassing law specifically written for the World Cup.
