Charges against Pavlos Joseph, the England fan who walked into the players' dressing room after the World Cup match against Algeria, were dropped today at Cape Town Magistrates' Court after he paid a 750 Rand (£65) 'admission of guilt' fine.
Earlier, South African police charged a British tabloid journalist with helping a fan gain access to the England dressing room after a World Cup match, according to national police commissioner Bheki Cele.
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.
Joseph's surprise appearance in the changing room, which included a short conversation with former England captain David Beckham, 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.
Cele said Wright was alleged to have booked Joseph into a hotel under a false name and had made him sign a contract for exclusive rights to all interviews after the incident. "We know that there was a seven day contract to speak to only that journalist," Cele said.
Wright has been charged with attempting to "defeat the ends of justice" and contravening immigration laws. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday and has been ordered to surrender his passport and is on bail of 3,000 rand.
Contrary to Wright's report on the dressing room incident, 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.
