England fan recounts restrained 'rant'

The England fan who walked into the team's dressing room has described how he stumbled across the players while looking for a…

The England fan who walked into the team's dressing room has described how he stumbled across the players while looking for a toilet and gave them a piece of his mind.

Pavlos Joseph, 32, from Crystal Palace, said a security guard sent him in the direction of the players' tunnel explaining there were toilets nearby, and after taking a wrong turn he found himself in the changing room.

The intrusion, which happened minutes after Princes William and Harry left following England's goalless draw with Algeria on Friday night, prompted the Football Association (FA) to make an official complaint to World Cup organisers Fifa who promised to tighten security.

Mr Joseph, a life-long England and Manchester United supporter, said he told a stunned David Beckham that fans had been left bitterly disappointed at England's performance.

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"I looked David straight in the eye and said, 'David, we've spent a lot of money getting here. This is a disgrace. What are you going to do about it?"

The mortgage advisor told the Sunday Mirrorthat when Beckham asked him who he was, he had responded: "I'm Pavlos and I actually need the toilet."

He said he then addressed the players, who were sitting on benches with towels around their waists.

"I told them, 'That was woeful and not good enough'. The room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The players' chins were on their chests - they looked pretty ashamed."

South African police said yesterday they were still searching for the intruder who was let free before he could be arrested.

Provincial police spokesman Colonel Billy Jones said he was wanted for trespassing and police were investigating why he was not handed over to officers.

But Mr Joseph claimed he had handed his card to a FIFA official who escorted him out of the dressing room.

At an FA reception in Johannesburg on Saturday, Beckham played down the incident, saying it had been "blown out of all proportion".

Beckham, who gave a joint interview with Princes William and Harry, said: "Luckily it was after the princes had left - five to 10 minutes after. Obviously it's been blown out of all proportion as well.

"The actual fan literally just walked in very casually and just said something to me and then walked out - there was no scuffle, there was no aggression at all."

Meanwhile, there were further problems for the England camp with striker Wayne Rooney having to issue an apology yesterday "for any offence caused" by his criticism of fans as they booed the team off the pitch at full-time.

William and Harry were pictured holding their faces during Friday night's match, while an animated Beckham - who is a member of the team's backroom staff after injury ruled him out of contention for the squad - was seen leaping out of his dug-out seat at times.

The princes and the midfielder remain optimistic England can still make it to the knock-out stages and said a win against Slovenia would put them back on track.

Beckham said: "We win the next game, we win the group. We know we've not played well in the first two games but we haven't lost, we've got two points.

"To get it back on track it's easy - if we win our last game then everything looks good again."

William revealed the three of them tried to lighten the mood in the dressing room.

He said: "It wasn't a loss, it was a draw and the guys went in the changing room fairly upset about how they played but by the time we finished there were laughs and jokes - Harry and I acted like idiots.

"We tried to get David in on the act as well and the three of us tried to raise some spirits, that's what we did really."

Beckham praised the princes for helping to boost the morale in the England changing room, and said: "I think what the princes done coming in after the game lifted the guys last night, it took our minds off the game - half-an-hour after the game. The guys were a little bit more relaxed last night."