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British journo to face trial

2010-07-07 13:21
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Cape Town - A British journalist arrested after a fan made it into the England team's World Cup locker room will stand trial this weekend, after a brief court appearance on Wednesday.

British tabloid newspaper journalist Simon Wright is accused of harbouring Pavlos Joseph, who walked into the English locker room and lectured David Beckham and the team on a lacklustre performance in their draw with Algeria.

Joseph's intrusion came just minutes after Princes William and Harry had left the locker room, heightening the security implications.

Ready for trial

The state told a special World Cup court on Wednesday that it had turned down the defence's bid for the case to be withdrawn, and the trial was set for Saturday.

"The matter is now ready for trial," prosecutor Billy Downer told the court.

The Sunday Mirror journalist faces charges of defeating the ends of justice and of contravening immigration law.

Police chief Bheki Cele has said the episode was part of a deliberate plot to put World Cup security in a bad light, and that Wright had put Joseph up in a hotel under a false name after the intrusion.

Defence attorney William Booth told the court there was "not a shred" of evidence of a conspiracy.

Joseph gave an interview to the Sunday Mirror after the incident, claiming he had wandered into the dressing room by mistake while looking for a toilet.

The English fan pleaded guilty last week and paid a fine of nearly $100 for entering the team's locker room without authorisation.

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