Man who tricked his way into Wembley for Champions League final may face jail
The 34-year-old, from Hull in East Yorkshire, appeared at Willesden Magistrates' Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of obtaining services dishonestly.
Rachna Gokani, prosecuting, told the court: 'The defendant involved his young son who was four years old at the time in order to assist his illegal entrance into the stadium.
Real Madrid won the match at Wembley, beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 (Joe Giddens/PA)
'He was wearing a suit for the specific purpose of looking like he was entitled to these services.'
Ms Gokani added Carruthers went on to 'advertise his offending' in a national newspaper.
She said: 'He went to the Daily Mail and a football-related publication, essentially boasting about gaining entry – something he said he had done previously.
'Mr Carruthers was boasting precisely that he met Naomi Campbell and the heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk and other celebrities.'
The most expensive hospitality package available on that day was £10,900 per person. The hospitality area which Mr Carruthers entered is on a hospitality package which basically exceeds that. It's only available for certain VIPs, members of the public cannot purchase it Rachna Gokani, prosecuting
Quoting a probation officer who met Carruthers prior to the hearing, Ms Gokani added: 'He had no shame or remorse and was clearly proud of what he had accomplished.'
The court heard Carruthers and his son enjoyed an exclusive hospitality area which regular members of the public were not able to purchase.
Spanish giants Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the match played on June 1 2024.
Ms Gokani said: 'The most expensive hospitality package available on that day was £10,900 per person.
'The hospitality area which Mr Carruthers entered is on a hospitality package which basically exceeds that.
'It's only available for certain VIPs, members of the public cannot purchase it.
'The Daily Mail article and Mr Carruthers himself refer to a cost of about £20,000 for tickets, so he is plainly aware of the levels we are dealing with.'
Ms Gokani said the offending and its subsequent 'advertisement' in the Daily Mail posed security risks for Wembley Stadium, and prompted the Football Association to prosecute Carruthers.
Referring the 2020 Euro final mass disorder incident, when more than 2,000 people stormed their way into Wembley, she said: 'The devastating events of that day are why they (the FA) take offences such as this seriously.
'There are real risks in terms of disorder, health and safety, and the status of the stadium.'
Carruthers, who represented himself in court, apologised after he was told the offence carried a maximum sentence of three years in jail.
He said: 'I'm regretful of what I did, it really does worry me about jail, to be honest.
'I don't really want to ruin my kids' future.'
Lead magistrate Laura Mee told the defendant the case is to be transferred to crown court for sentence as the serious nature of the offence exceeds the magistrates' sentencing powers.
Carruthers told the panel as he left the dock: 'I think it's excessive, I've not hurt anyone.'
He will be sentenced at Harrow Crown Court at a date yet to be fixed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
14 minutes ago
- Metro
Jose Mourinho explains how his management style changed football
Jose Mourinho feels his way of working changed football and there is a clear distinction between before and after his emergence. The iconic boss first came to the world's attention when he won the Champions League with Porto in 2004, earning a move to the Premier League with Chelsea. In his first of two spells with the Blues he won the Premier League twice, before leaving for Inter Milan where he won two Serie A titles and the Champions League in 2010. A move to Real Madrid followed where he won La Liga in 2012 while competing against one of the great Barcelona sides. Since then he returned to Chelsea, moved to Manchester United, Tottenham, Roma and now Fenerbahce. Metro's new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. His reputation may have dimmed in recent years, but at the peak of his powers in the noughties he was a pioneering manager, considered one of the best in the world. The 62-year-old feels he was so pioneering that football management is different now to before he arrived at the top of the sport. 'It is complicated. Methodologically, I think there is a distinction between before me and after me,' Mourinho said, via Turkish site Fanatik. 'Methodologically, in terms of how you train, how you think about the game, in the early 2000s, until 2000 and 2004 when I won my first Champions League, there was a big explosion of interest in the way I worked and then there is clearly an after. 'I remember, for example, when I came to Italy to Inter, when I first went to Italy, even the players didn't really believe in that way of working. There was a radical change on a methodological level.' Mourinho's first season at Fenerbahce did not produce any silverware, but he rages against the idea that he is past his best. 'Many people say something that makes me laugh, 'Jose Mourinho is not what he used to be, he has lost his identity',' he said. 'It is better to lose identity and win. I think those who say that win less. So, those who win, who win more often, are the ones who are more impressive. Then there's something that makes me feel even better, and that's the way I win, where I win. Porto Primeira Liga: 2002/03, 2003/04 Taca de Portugal: 2002–03 Champions League: 2003–04 UEFA Cup: 2002–03 Chelsea Premier League: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2014–1 FA Cup: 2006–07 Inter Serie A: 2008–09, 2009–10 Coppa Italia: 2009–10 Champions League: 2009–10 Real Madrid La Liga: 2011–12 Copa del Rey: 2010–11 Man Utd Europa League: 2016–17 'Because winning the Champions League with Porto is not the same as winning the Champions League with Barcelona. Winning the Champions League with Inter is not the same as winning the Champions League with Real Madrid. More Trending 'You can say: 'OK, but you were at Real Madrid and you didn't win the Champions League.' I didn't win the Champions League, but I won the league title and the cup, I beat Barcelona, the best team in the world, and I broke a big cycle of Barcelona's dominance against Real Madrid. 'The last UEFA title I won with Roma, Roma's first and only European title, so the things I did, not only the number of titles I won, but the way I did them… I'm one of the best.' Mourinho will try and return to the Champions League with his Fenerbahce side when they take on Benfica in the play-offs, starting in Turkey on Wednesday night. MORE: Rangers vs Club Brugge TV channel, live stream, team news and odds MORE: When is the Champions League draw and when does the group stage start? MORE: Jamie Carragher makes shocking Chelsea prediction as fans call him a 'clown'
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside the mind of the 'Candy Man's' apprentice: Serial killer expert's chilling interview with a murderer's accomplice
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. seemed to be the hero of the story when officers responded to a shooting at a home in Pasadena, Texas, on the morning of August 8, 1973. Inside the house lay the bullet-riddled, naked body of 33-year-old Dean Corll - a man known locally as the 'Candy Man' as he gave out free candy from his mom's store to local children. Police also found a trove of disturbing torture tools including restraints, sex toys and plastic sheeting laid out on the ground. Outside, were three shaken teens. The teens told police they had passed out inside the home after spending the night drinking and huffing acrylic paint to get high. When they woke, they found themselves bound and Corll standing over them, telling them he was going to sexually assault and kill them. Corll had then untied Henley and ordered him to participate in his plot. At that moment, the 17-year-old grabbed Corll's gun and shot him dead. The teen had saved himself and his two friends from a horrific murder at the hands of a sick predator. But this was only the beginning of the story. Within hours, Henley revealed that Corll was a serial killer responsible for the murders of dozens of boys who had vanished from the Houston Heights neighborhood over the past few years. And, in an even more explosive twist, Henley confessed that he had been his accomplice. Between 1970 and 1973, Corll lured, sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered boys, with the help of his two teenage accomplices Henley and David Brooks. With Corll dead, Henley and Brooks led police to three mass graves where the victims' bodies were buried. The remains of 28 boys aged 13 to 20 were found. Five decades later, there are fears that more victims are still out there. The case, known as the Houston Mass Murders or the 'Candy Man' killings, shocked the community and the nation long before the term serial killer had even been coined. Both Henley and Brooks were sentenced to life in prison for their part in the murders. Brooks died in May 2020, leaving Henley the sole survivor of the team of killers. Now, Henley is speaking out for the first time in 50 years in conversations with top serial killer expert and criminologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland in the new ID documentary 'The Serial Killer's Apprentice'. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dr. Ramsland - who famously co-authored a book with the BTK killer Dennis Rader and was Idaho killer Bryan Kohberger's professor - said the case is different to the countless serial killer and mass murder cases she has studied. 'This case was unusual because it was a team killer case, but involving three people,' she said. 'So you had an adult predatory serial killer using two teenage boys as accomplices.' Despite participating in the murders, Dr. Ramsland explained that the power dynamic was not equal between the three killers. 'The two teenagers were compliant accomplices. They were not co-equals. They did not want to be killers, but they wanted to please Dean Corll and also they were afraid of him,' she said. 'So that dynamic for them was that they were doing things they didn't really want to do, even though they were doing it for a long period of time. Corll, who was the adult predator, is the one with the fantasy that led the way, and he dominated the other two. 'They were submissive to him. And so whatever he said is what they had to do.' In other team killer cases she has studied, the individuals are typically 'the same in their depravity'. 'They both want to do this. They come up with the most horrible things together. That's very different from a predator and a compliant accomplice,' she said. 'The predator leads the way. The compliant accomplices go with them.' But there was something else unique about the Houston Mass Murders too: the way the killings stopped. 'Henley is the only accomplice to a serial killer who killed the killer to end it,' she said. In their conversations, Dr. Ramsland said she wanted to delve into what led Henley to cross the line to become a killer. Henley was 14 when he was recruited through Brooks to join the murderous team. Corll drew his teen accomplices in by telling them there was a so-called 'Syndicate' - a powerful trafficking ring where teenage boys were sold as houseboys to wealthy clients across the US. He claimed he was part of the Syndicate and that, if Brooks and Henley brought him boys, he would sell them for money. Initially, Dr. Ramsland explained that this financial reward was appealing to Henley. Henley has said he didn't know Corll planned to kill the victims at first. When he brought a boy to Corll, who then sexually assaulted and killed him in front of him, Henley was implicated in the murders. Plastic sheeting was found laid down on the ground inside the Pasadena home of the Candy Man killer 'If I go down, you go down. So there was that mutually assured destruction,' Dr. Ramsland said. After some time, Henley also committed some of the murders himself. The first time he killed was a 'pivotal moment'. 'It was a very pivotal moment, in part because he had this firm belief in God. He read the Bible every day and carried a little pocket Bible with them. And, for him, it was really the end of his faith because nothing happened to him,' Dr. Ramsland said. 'He really expected to be struck dead by God because that's what he was taught. And it didn't happen. Nothing happened… for him, it was a hugely pivotal moment in his whole belief system, his sense of himself.' Fear was a major factor in Henley's role, she said, with the threat of the Syndicate coming after him if he didn't do what they wanted. 'So Wayne had to decide: "If I went to the police would they believe me? A 15-year-old kid against an adult? And if they let Corll go, I'm in danger. Or if they don't let Corll go, the Syndicate is going to come after me." So he's in this no-win situation.' She added: 'Corll played a long game. He had decided that Henley was going to become this accomplice so little-by-little, he pursued him.' Dr. Ramsland learned there were times when Henley did try to get away from Corll. At one point, he confided in his uncles about the murders but they didn't believe him. He then gave his mom a confession letter but she tore it up and booked him an appointment with a psychiatrist. Before he could make it to the appointment, Corll was dead. Based on her expertise, Henley is both a victim and a perpetrator. 'Wayne is a victim. He was also sexually assaulted by Corll. He was also leveraged. He was made to do things he didn't want to do,' Dr. Ramsland said. 'But then he also did things he did want to do.' While she said Henley's 'status as a victim is in no way anything like the victims who were tortured and killed', she described him as a 'complicated individual'. 'I think everybody who's human knows the feeling of being compromised and doing things that are out of character for them and they wonder how they were able to do that,' she said. Having spent years talking to Henley and studying his case, Dr. Ramsland believes he might never have become a killer if he hadn't met Corll. 'Henley wanted to be a minister or a cop. He was a very protective kind of guy, and he was kind of like a hang-back hippie type,' she said. 'There's nothing in his background that would suggest he, on his own, would have ever become a killer… to even think about killing somebody was just not in his DNA.'
Daily Mirror
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Alexander Isak's team-mate's stunned reaction on radio after huge transfer announcement
A former team-mate of Alexander Isak, who remains at the centre of a transfer row with Newcastle United, was told of the striker's impending exit during a live radio interview Alexander Isak left a team-mate stunned with a major transfer announcement on live radio. A transfer saga involving Isak is not uncharted territory for the Swedish striker, who broke his silence amid his attempts to force a move out of Newcastle by accusing the club of breaking promises in a lengthy statement on Instagram. The club responded late on Tuesday night to express disappointment at Isak's message while leaving the door open for the 25-year-old, who wants to join Liverpool, to return to the fold. Despite his age, Isak has already had numerous moves in his career, with one leaving current Arsenal and former Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino gobsmacked on live radio. Then of Real Sociedad, Merino was being interviewed by Radio MARCA when he was told of Isak's impending move to Newcastle in August 2022. Taken aback by the news, Merino admitted it would be a bitter blow for the La Liga side. He said: 'I can't tell you either because I can't. I mean, I'm not sure if that's true or not. Now, when I talk to him, I'll keep him informed. But hey, in any case, it's bad for us, he's a very important player.' The announcement was true, with Isak joining the Magpies for a club record fee of £63million. Isak has since become a hero on Tyneside, helping to fire the club into the Champions League and Carabao Cup glory last season. However, he has sullied his reputation with the club's fans as he angles for a move to Liverpool, who have seen a bid of £110million rejected. The saga took another twist on Tuesday as Isak made an incendiary public statement after being named in the PFA Premier League team of the season. Isak, who didn't attend the ceremony, wrote: 'I've kept quiet for a long time while others have spoken. That silence has allowed people to push their own version of events, even though they know it doesn't reflect what was really said and agreed behind closed doors. 'The reality is that promises were made and the club has known my position for a long time. To act now as if these issues are only emerging is misleading. 'When promises are broken and trust is lost, the relationship can't continue. That's where things are for me right now – and why change is in the best interests of everyone, not just myself.' Newcastle refuted Isak's claims in a strong statement of their own while leaving the door ajar to the player's reintegration into the squad. The club said: 'We are disappointed to have been alerted to a social media post by Alexander Isak this evening. 'We are clear in response that Alex remains under contract and that no commitment has ever been made by a club official that Alex can leave Newcastle United this summer. 'We want to keep our best players, but we also understand players have their own wishes and we listen to their views. 'As explained to Alex and his representatives, we must always take into consideration the best interests of Newcastle United, the team and our supporters in all decisions and we have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired. We do not foresee those conditions being met. 'This is a proud football club with proud traditions and we strive to retain our family feel. Alex remains part of our family and will be welcomed back when he is ready to rejoin his teammates.'
