England fan in dressing room could be jailed for a year

The fan who burst into the England dressing room after the dismal draw against Algeria could be jailed for a year.

Pavlos Joseph, 32, surrendered to the police hours after revealing how he slammed the woeful performance by Fabio Capello's team.

He was taken in handcuffs to a special World Cup court in Cape Town after being charged with two counts of trespassing.

He did not enter a plea during the 10-minute hearing and was released on £50 bail until today.

Joseph, from South London, was barred from World Cup matches until his fate is decided.

Both charges carry a maximum sentence of six months in prison or an unlimited fine.



Joseph appeared in court less than 48 hours after entering the England dressing room at the Green Point stadium.

Wearing his red Three Lions shirt, the mortgage broker told the multimillionaire soccer flops: "You are a disgrace." He also confronted injured David Beckham to complain about J at the grim performance on the field.

Fa chiefs were furious at the breach, which happened minutes after Princes William and Harry had left the dressing room. Security has been tightened up ahead of Wednesday's must-win game against Slovenia.

Joseph phoned the police yesterday after selling his story.

He agreed to be questioned - but only if cops promised he would not be beaten up. They picked him up from his luxury hotel in Camps Bay and took him to a local police station. Joseph, wearing a grey top, blue jeans and white trainers, was quizzed for almost five hours before he was taken to court.

Friends said he burst into tears when he was put in a cell.

Joseph claimed he stumbled into the England dressing room by accident while he was looking for a toilet. In an interview with our sister paper, the Sunday Mirror, he said: "I took a right down a corridor and before I knew it I found myself in the dressing room. The next thing I knew there was David Beckham in front of me.

"He was wearing his grey England three-piece suit, wandering around with his hands in his pockets and looking at the floor.

"I froze and looked round the room.

I couldn't believe where I was.

"I saw Joe Cole walk naked out of the shower a few feet away from me. He glanced at me and then did a massive double take.

"Then David looked at me. His face seemed to drop. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The room was dead silent. The players were sitting on benches with towels round their waists just looking at me."

Pavlos went on: "I looked at David and said, 'We've spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it?'

"You could hear a pin drop. The players' chins were on their chests. They looked pretty ashamed. I didn't rant or shout or get out of order. I was calm and quiet. I left when I was asked to.

"The Fifa guy who led me out actually showed me to the toilet."

(source: mirror.co.uk)