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Journalist arrested in World Cup fan intruder case

By the CNN Wire Staff
England fan Pavlos Joseph attended a magistrates' court in Cape Town on June 25. He was released on bail.
England fan Pavlos Joseph attended a magistrates' court in Cape Town on June 25. He was released on bail.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • British journalist arrested over World Cup fan intrusion
  • Simon Wright is senior reporter for The Sunday Mirror
  • Wright had first interview with fan after incident
  • Fan broke into England dressing room after July 18 match
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Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) -- A British journalist has been arrested in connection with the incident a week ago in which a fan entered the England football team's dressing room during the World Cup, South African authorities announced Tuesday.

Simon Wright, 44, was arrested in Cape Town on Monday evening, the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) said. He appeared in Cape Town magistrates' court -- the dedicated World Cup court -- late Monday and was released on bail of 3,000 rand ($393).

Wright is a senior reporter for the British tabloid The Sunday Mirror, and had the first interview with the fan after the incident on June 18.

The fan, Pavlos Joseph, was arrested after he entered the England dressing room following their goalless draw with Algeria. In the exclusive interview with Wright two days later, Joseph claimed he got lost while looking for the bathroom and then decided to confront the England team about their poor performance.

Joseph is out on bail, having surrendered his passport, while he awaits trial on charges of trespassing.

Wright will face charges of attempting to defeat the ends of justice and a contravention of the Immigration Act, providing false information to a place of accommodation, NATJOINTS said in a statement.

Under the conditions of his bail, Wright had to surrender his passport to police and must report once daily to Cape Town police, NATJOINTS said.

In the interview published June 20, Wright wrote, "As South African police hunted high and low for Pavlos, unaware of his name and scouring CCTV (surveillance camera footage) for his face, the man at the centre of it all was calmly sitting down to breakfast with the Sunday Mirror."

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