Cash stolen from Greek team
2010-06-10 18:11
Members of Greece’s World Cup soccer team have had foreign currency
stolen from their luxury hotel in Umhlanga, north of Durban.
South African Police Colonel Vish Naidoo said the theft occurred
two days ago and the Greek side have declined to press charges but police were
trying to persuade them to do so.
Naidoo said: “They refused to open a case but we have sent a
high-level delegation of detectives to interview them and try to pursue an
investigation.”
Several press reports have said three players lost the equivalent
of R30 000 but Naidoo said he did not know exactly how much money was
involved.
The acting manager of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Patsy Esposito,
declined to discuss the matter and Southern Sun Hotels spokesperson Priya Naidoo
dismissed it as “an allegation”.
Greece meets South Korea in Port Elizabeth on Saturday in their
first match of the tournament.
In late May, the Colombian football team had cash stolen from their
rooms at the five-star Hyde Park Southern Sun Hotel in Johannesburg when they
played a friendly match against Bafana Bafana.
Two hotel employees were later charged with theft.
Egypt’s football team was robbed of a large amount of cash at their
Johannesburg hotel during last year’s Confederations Cup.