London, June 20 (IANS) Pavlos Joseph, the England fan who entered the team’s dressing room after the football World Cup match against Algeria, was Sunday being questioned by the South African police.
Joseph, a mortgage broker from London’s Crystal Palace,was able to pass through security checks and gain access to the England rooms where he spoke to David Beckham and vented his anger at the players.
Joseph had claimed in a Sunday newspaper he had been trying to find the toilets in Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium and had taken a wrong turn.
‘I looked David straight in the eye and said, ‘David, we’ve spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it?”
When Beckham asked him who he was, Joseph told the Sunday Mirror he responded: ‘I’m Pavlos and I actually need the toilet.’
He said he then addressed the players, who were sitting on benches with towels around their waists. ‘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.’
South Africa’s organising committee communications chief Rich Mkhondo said in The Guardian: ‘I spoke to the police and they have interviewed the English fan and they will be releasing a statement soon. We are addressing the issue and the police are working hard to investigate what happened.’
‘They have studied the CCTV and they interviewed the English fan and will issue a statement soon to clarify the next steps to be taken.’
Football Association (FA) has made an official complaint to FIFA, which promised to tighten the security.
South African police spokesman Colonel Billy Jones said Joseph was wanted for trespassing and police were investigating why he was not handed over to officers.
