{"id":297236,"date":"2026-06-14T14:08:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:08:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/two-men-charged-over-england-world-cup-heist\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T14:08:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:08:25","slug":"two-men-charged-over-england-world-cup-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/mthathaexpress\/two-men-charged-over-england-world-cup-heist\/","title":{"rendered":"Two men charged in connection with England World Cup \u2018heist\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KANSAS CITY,\u00a0United States<\/strong> \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Two men were charged on Saturday 13 June over the theft of $18,000-worth of kit and equipment from the England team at the World Cup, a US prosecutor said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The offence under Missouri law carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnson’s office said in a statement that the stolen property is estimated to be worth about $18 000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Jackson County will not tolerate any criminal activity that targets World Cup visitors, including the international teams that have traveled here to compete,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charges filed as Kansas City vows zero tolerance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

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

Players relaxed as stolen kit recovered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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

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

“I think they got everything back, so it’s all good.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Dan Burn was relaxed about the episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“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.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday, before further games in Group L against Ghana and Panama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two men face charges after $18 000 worth of England’s World Cup kit was stolen in transit, with most items recovered before their opener against 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