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UK journalist held over England 'trespass'

Simon Wright was arrested in Cape Town on Monday after CCTV's footage indicated he helped 32-year-old fan Pavlos Joseph get into the England locker room.

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South African police have arrested a British tabloid journalist for helping a fan gain access to the England dressing room after a World Cup soccer match, national police commissioner Bheki Cele said on Tuesday.

Sunday Mirror reporter Simon Wright was arrested in Cape Town on Monday after closed circuit television footage indicated he helped 32-year-old fan Pavlos Joseph get into the England locker room after their June 18 draw with Algeria, police said.

"The police have reason to believe this incident was orchestrated. The police believe the motive was to put the World Cup security in a bad light and possibly to profit from it," Cele told a news conference in Pretoria.

Wright interviewed Joseph at length for a post-match story in which he branded the England team a "disgrace" for their poor performance against lowly-ranked Algeria, only a few days after a disappointing 1-1 draw against the United States.

In the article, he described how Joseph eyeballed the dejected players and told them: "That was woeful and not good enough".

Joseph's surprise appearance in the changing room, which included a short conversation with former England captain David Beckham, also raised concerns about lax security at the tournament, the first to be staged in Africa.

"As South African police hunted high and low for Pavlos, unaware of his name and scouring CCTV for his face, the man at the centre of it all was calmly sitting down to breakfast with the Sunday Mirror," Wright wrote.

Joseph, who was arrested for trespass, is on bail of 500 rand ($65) and is likely to find out on Wednesday if he will face formal charges.

Contrary to Wright's report, Beckham has said Joseph did not give the England players a piece of his mind. Rather, he just said "hello" before walking out of the room, Beckham said.

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