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  1. #1
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    Footballers under threat

    When Phil Jagielka was robbed at knifepoint by a masked gang last September there was nothing he could do.

    Jagielka, one of the Premier League's best defender, should have been playing in an away match in Hull, but injury had ruled him out, so he had invited three friends to his Cheshire home to share dinner and watch the game on TV.

    He has not spoken publicly about what followed - he describes it as the most frightening experience of his life - until now.

    "Suddenly there was a couple of bangs at the door," he recalls. "I thought it was the missus coming home from her college course.

    "Three young men dressed all in black and with balaclavas were in my dining room. One threatened me with some kind of object while another went into the kitchen to get a couple of knives."

    The victims were forced to hand over cash, watches and jewellery before Jagielka was told to open a safe or face the consequences.

    "Time just stood still," Jagielka continues. "He was behind me with a big knife and told me to open the safe. It was quite surreal, and more disturbing afterwards than at the time. Thankfully none of us confronted them.

    "They came in with nothing to lose and things could have got messy, so we just gave them what they wanted. My two kids were asleep upstairs, I had no weapon and the odds weren't stacked in my favour."

    Jagielka was the 21st Premier League player in the north-west of England to be targeted by thieves in the last three years - other victims include Pepe Reina, Robbie Keane, Lucas Leiva, Dirk Kuyt, Peter Crouch, Daniel Agger and Tony Hibbert.

    The wives of Steven Gerrard, Darren Fletcher, Emile Heskey and Roque Santa Cruz have also been subjected to terrifying attacks by armed intruders while their husbands were away from home playing games for their clubs.

    Meanwhile, thieves also appear to be targeting the homes of London-based players in an area of Essex popular with millionaire footballers known as the Golden Triangle.

    Pascal Chimbonda, Mido, Julien Faubert and Lucas Neill have all had their houses ransacked. Last month, an attempted raid was made on Ashley Cole's Surrey mansion while the Chelsea defender was at home.

    "I know a lot of players have been robbed when they've been playing away from home," says Jagielka.

    "It's hard to tell if it's all organised but it's possible players have been followed home after games to discover where they live. With all the games now on TV, it's quite simple to work out when a player is away with a match."

    John Bramhall, assistant chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, admits the crime wave represents "a major concern".

    "These cases are very traumatic," he adds. "It would appear that individuals are making a concerted effort to target Premier League footballers."
    Many top players are now using security firms to protect their property and families.

    Advanced surveillance cameras, which enable players to see their homes on their mobile phones, laser-beam alarm systems, panic rooms and bullet-proof cars are just some of the measures being employed.
    But the problem is also a cause for concern outside the Premier League.
    "We protect League one and League two players. It's not too difficult to find out when these players have away matches either," says Dave Newbury of Case Security.

    "Players are under more threat than ever before," he says.

    "More information is available about them on social networking sites, there's more media attention, there's speculation about their personal wealth. It's difficult not to draw attention to yourself."

    Despite all the precautions being taken, Jagielka fears that it is only a matter of time until a player or someone close to them is seriously injured or even killed if the armed robberies continue.

    "I definitely think so," he says. "If someone comes at you with a knife, he flips and ends up stabbing you, things do get out of control."

    John Bramhall agrees. "That's the reality when people are using these kinds of weapons and entering houses by force," he says. "There's always the potential for that to happen."

    The fear now is that the threat which players face from criminals could go beyond simple robbery and become more sinister.

    Wilson Palacios, Joseph Yobo, and Robinho are just some of the players who have had family members kidnapped and held to ransom back in their own countries - in the case of Palacios the ordeal ended in tragedy when his teenage brother Edwin was murdered.

    But could a football-related kidnap ever occur here in the United Kingdom?

    "It will happen, it's just a matter of when," says Paul Hughes, the founder of Benchmark PA Security, who works for a number of Premier League players including Everton skipper Phil Neville and used to be the personal bodyguard of the Beckham family.

    "I was protecting Victoria (Beckham) when an alleged kidnap attempt was made on her in 2002," he recalls. "Thankfully it was foiled by the police.

    "But with the money involved now and the criminal activity in some of the countries that these players come from, it's a matter of time until there's an attempt made on a foreign player or a member of their family."

    Where there is a threat, there is money to be made.

    One of the biggest trade stands at this week's Soccerex football business event in Manchester was organised by Lockton, an insurance broker which provides clubs, players and national associations with cover against possible kidnapping.

    "It's a problem that several clubs have suffered from and they now want to insure themselves against," says Michael Owen, executive director of Lockton's Sports Division.

    "Look at the attack on the Togo team recently. Clubs need to be aware that their players are under threat and could be unavailable for long periods of time. They need to cover themselves for that eventuality."

    Jagielka, who has just returned from a long lay-off with a serious knee injury, believes he has now recovered mentally from his ordeal.

    "Hopefully I can move on now," he says. "I'm just thankful my wife and kids weren't aware of what went on and it's a case of praying nothing like that ever happens again."

    Source

  2. #2
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    I can't be arsed to read all that but i'm just going to blame it on the scousers.

    Thieving bastards.

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