Cleaning staff at the luxury hotel where England stayed during the World Cup stole football shirts, a medal and even underwear from players, police said Monday.
Police spokeswoman Junior Metsi said cash was taken - about 500 pounds (about $750). The thieves seemed interested in souvenirs, such as a United States shirt an England player received in the customary post-match trade. A medal awarded by FIFA and underwear also disappeared in a spree police say began June 21.
The thefts were not reported to police until Saturday. Metsi said police solved the case within a day, searching the homes of staff at the hotel near Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg.
``Everything that was stolen was recovered and they (the thieves) are now behind bars,'' she said.
On Sunday, a special World Cup court convicted five hotel workers of the thefts. They were sentenced to three years in prison and fined 6,000 rand (about $800).
Metsi would not name the players from whom items were stolen.
England made it to the round of 16, but exited Sunday after a 4-1 loss to Germany. The team was due to fly back to England late Monday.
England's World Cup headquarters was a state-of-the-art sports complex and hotel built by the Bafokeng tribe of northern South Africa and completed shortly before the tournament began.
Sue Cook, an official with the Bafokeng administration, said the hotel's managers would work to ensure incidents like the thefts do no recur. She emphasized that police were quick to respond and all the items had been recovered.
``I'm pretty sure this was an isolated incident,'' Cook said. ``I think the response to this incident was very impressive.''
The Bafokeng also own the Rustenburg stadium where World Cup games were played.
