England fan to face trial after dressing room rant

The case against the England fan who berated the players after wandering into the team’s dressing room after the Algeria match was adjourned today.

Pavlos Joseph, 32, from Crystal Palace, south-east London, appeared at a special World Cup court in Cape Town.

But the case was adjourned until Friday when he will go on trial.

At a court appearance yesterday he was banned from attending future World Cup matches and released on 500 rand bail.

Brigadier Sally de Beer, spokeswoman for the South African Police Service, said: “The case was adjourned to Friday for plea and trial. Conditions remain the same.”

Joseph was arrested yesterday morning and charged with trespassing.

He told the Sunday Mirror he was looking for a toilet after the match when a security guard sent him in the direction of the players’ tunnel.

After taking a wrong turn, he found himself in the changing room where he says he told David Beckham: “David, we’ve spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it?”

His sister Sylvia Higgins, 44, told the Daily Mail: “He’s been made a scapegoat by the South African police. We won’t stop fighting until we get him out of there.

“I want our Government to help him. The whole family can’t stop crying at the moment.

“Pavlos shouldn’t be standing before court – he didn’t do anything that bad. This has got completely out of hand now.”

A spokesman for the High Commission in South Africa said: “We have offered consular assistance.”