The England fan who barged into the team’s dressing room and berated players for their poor showing against Algeria was “only looking for the toilet,” he told a British Sunday newspaper.
“The next thing I knew, there was David Beckham standing in front of me,” Manchester United fan Pavlos Joseph told the Sunday Mirror. “I couldn’t believe where I was.”
The security breach, which occurred minutes after Friday evening’s game in Cape Town, triggered a debate about the measures imposed to protect players at the World Cup.
Joseph, who was arrested on Sunday, said he saw England midfielder Joe Cole walking naked out of the shower, when Beckham noticed the intruder.
“His face seemed to drop ... He took a step towards me and said, ‘Whoa, who are you?’ At first I didn’t know what to say. I glanced around at everyone again and then looked back at him. I said, ‘I’m Pavlos and I actually need the toilet’.”
“For a moment, no-one said a word ... I said, ‘David, we’ve spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it’?”
Turning to the other players, he said: “That was woeful and not good enough.”
England’s press castigated the squad for their ineffective performance in the 0-0 draw against lowly Algeria, which left them without a win in two matches.
The English Football Association protested to World Cup organisers about the security lapse, which happed 10 minutes after Britain’s Prince William and Prince Harry visited the team to commiserate with them.
Fifa called the breach “totally unacceptable” and said it would review World Cup security measures.
Joseph told the newspaper he only said what any other fan would have said in such circumstances, with Englands progression in the World Cup in serious jeopardy. The squad needs a win against Slovenia in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday if it hopes to make the knock-out stage.