Pair accused of swiping English national team's World Cup gear

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Two men were charged Saturday over the theft of $18,000-worth of kit and equipment from the England team at the World Cup, a US prosecutor said.

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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.

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The offence under Missouri law carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.

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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.

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Johnson’s office said in a statement that the stolen property is estimated to be worth about $18,000.

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“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.

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

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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”.

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

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

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“I think they got everything back, so it’s all good.”

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Defender Dan Burn was relaxed about the episode.

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“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.”

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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.

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They open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday, before further games in Group L against Ghana and Panama.

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