World Cup trespasser sentencing delayed

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World Cup trespasser sentencing delayed A football supporter who was accused of trespassing at the World Cup for walking into England’s dressing room must wait until next week to hear his sentence. Pavlos Joseph aged 32 from London appeared at a Cape Town special World Cup Court, but his case was delayed until Wednesday.

Craig Webster, his solicitor, requested that the case be adjourned because he was waiting for CCTV footage from the Green Point stadium that documented the event. At a hearing previous to the latest one, Joseph was banned from attending any future World Cup matches, was released on a £44 bail, and had his passport taken until sentencing is complete.

Webster asked the case to be postponed until Wednesday, which magistrate Azix Hamied granted.  The footage is expected to be in the solicitor’s hands by then. Joseph claimed that he was searching for a toilet after the match was over when a security guard appeared and directed him towards the players’ tunnel.

After he turned the wrong way he said that he ran into David Beckham and asked him what he was going to do to turn England around. The incident caused the Football Association to issue a complaint to Fifa, the World Cup organizer.

A spokeswoman for the UK police forces in South Africa stated that a football banning order would not be issued due to the fact the incident was not violent in nature. Joseph stated that he then told Beckham he was searching for a toilet.

Police ready for Germany England match

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Police ready for Germany England match Police are ready to combat tension that is expected to occur when England plays Germany in the next stage of the World Cup according to leader of UK police presence in South Africa.

At this point, there have not been any arrests related to the football matches, but given the heavy rivalry and fact that it is a knock out game Assistant Chief Constable Andy Holt said the fixture may be trouble.

Holt also took the time to praise England fans for their behavior thus far and said that officers had been pleased at the friendly atmosphere.  Holt is in charge of 12 UK officers at the South African tournament and stated that there likely will be some tension but the police are prepared for this occurrence and they hope to ward it off so that everyone can enjoy the match.

He added that it is not entirely up to England fans however, as the end result will be a mixture of how Germany and England fans behave since they can influence each other’s actions.  He also noted that this is the most potential to be a problem match.

According to Holt, England fans should continue to be on their best behavior and focus their energies on supporting the team because it makes the country proud and can help lead England to victory.

WAGs free goodies as South African’s starve

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WAGs free goodies as South African’s starve England players’ girlfriends and wives are under attack after it was alleged that a few of them will receive an estimated £9,000 in clothes, holidays, and jewelry just for attending a Pretoria celebrity cocktail party Friday.

Optiphi, a South African cosmetics firm, stated that four of England’s WAGs including Chantelle Tagoe, Lisa Carrick, and Ellie Darby will attend the promotion, which will feature Eric Way (Sex and the City dress designer) and will receive a very handsome goody bag.

Details about the party were discovered just a few days after Tagoe paid a visit to an orphanage located outside of Cape Town.

Both Tagoe and Darby have also appeared in a BBC3 documentary in which they visited some of the poorest neighborhoods in South Africa to care for children that were afflicted with HIV. An anti-poverty charity in South Africa has labeled the large promotional bags as ‘disgusting.’

Campaigns director for War on Want, Ruth Tanner, stated that it is disgusting that the WAGs will take these outrageous gifts as millions of people in South Africa face deadly poverty and that the firm should not give these luxury gifts to the WAGs.

Tanner added that she hoped the WAGS will decline the handouts when the money could have better uses.

A spokeswoman for Optiphi stated that four WAGs are expected to be in attendance Friday and that the aim of the firm is show South African hospitality towards England which is the aim of the goody bags.

Free Souvenir England Programmes with the Guardian

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The Guardian are offering free souvenir programmes with every England game. Here is there latest World Cup video.

You can also follow the Guardians’s Football World Cup coverage at www.guardian.co.uk/football/worldcup2010 or www.facebook.com/guardianfootball Follow on Twitter @gdnworldcup.

Bosses and England matches

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Bosses and England matches Employee union TUC has warned that that business across the UK could face problems if bosses do not allow employees to view the England match against Slovenia this week.

The union is urging all bosses to allow their staff to watch the World Cup game after a survey that took into account 140 companies commissioned by the London Chamber of Commerce revealed that half will not allow their employees view the match.

The kick-off for the match was set for 3pm in hopes that the football team will be shown in the middle of the working day and the TUC union recommended that instead of giving employees a red card, it would a great time to introduce flexible work hours.

TUC General Secretary, Brendan Barber, stated there are people across the UK that want to support their countries in the pub, at home, or on the internet and radio while at work.  Barber continued to explain that instead of creating tensions, bosses should sit down with staff to address the issues allowing employees to view the games and then finish their work afterwards so that everyone wins.

Barber expounded on the subject stating that regardless of whether the issue includes picking up children from school or viewing large events such as the World Cup people should be given a bit more flexibility which in turn will reduce the amount of absenteeism and increase general productivity across businesses.

Larger businesses and a great deal of schools have already made arrangements to view the event.