2 men charged over England World Cup ‘heist’

Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said the stolen property is estimated to be worth about US$18,000. (EPA Images pic)

KANSAS CITY: Two men were charged Saturday over the theft of US$18,000-worth of kit and equipment from the England team at the World Cup, a US prosecutor said.

Mustafa Salik and Erfan Kamal each face one count of receiving stolen property, according to a statement from the office of Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson.

The offence under Missouri law carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.

The equipment was stolen from vehicles as it was transferred from England’s training camp in Florida to their World Cup base in Kansas City.

Johnson’s office said in a statement that the stolen property is estimated to be worth about US$18,000.

“Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have travelled here to compete,” Johnson said.

“We thank the Kansas City Police Department and our on-call attorneys for their quick work investigating this incident and filing charges immediately.”

Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas praised the police and the prosecutor’s office “for resolving an investigation across several states, helping crime victims recover goods stolen in transit”.

Earlier, England reserve goalkeeper Dean Henderson said he had his boots back after it was reported that most of the items had been recovered.

“I got them back, so it’s all good,” the Crystal Palace goalkeeper said after England’s first training session at Swope Soccer Village.

“I think they got everything back, so it’s all good.”

Defender Dan Burn was relaxed about the episode.

“Obviously it was to do with the police,” he said. “So I don’t know how much people know about it. We didn’t know a lot about it, but I’ve got all my kit and all my boots.”

Thomas Tuchel’s England, among the favourites to win the World Cup, had a gentle training session in front of scores of watching fans on Saturday.

They open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday, before further games in Group L against Ghana and Panama.