Cleaning staff at the luxury hotel where England stayed during
the World Cup stole football shirts, a medal and even underwear
from players, police said Monday.
Police spokeswoman Junior Metsi said very little cash was taken,
about £500. The thieves instead seemed interested in souvenirs,
such as a USA shirt an
England player had
received in the customary post-match trade.
A medal awarded by Fifa and underwear also disappeared in a
spree that police say began on June 21.
The thefts were not reported to police until Saturday. Metsi
said police solved the case within a day, searching the homes of
hotel staff.
"Everything that was stolen was recovered and they (the thieves)
are now behind bars," she said.
On Sunday, a special World
Cup court convicted five hotel workers
of the thefts. They were sentenced to three years in prison and
fined.
Metsi would not name the players from whom items were
stolen.
England are due to fly home this evening following their
4-1
loss to Germany, their worst defeat in a major
tournament finals.
England's World Cup headquarters was a state-of-the-art sports
complex and hotel built by the Bafokeng tribe of northern South
Africa and completed shortly before the tournament began.
The Bafokeng also own the Rustenburg stadium where World Cup
games were played.
