SAfrica’s police commissioner says 7 replica trophies taken from FIFA HQ in Johannesburg

Police chief: WCup replicas stolen from FIFA HQ

PRETORIA, South Africa — South Africa’s police commissioner says seven World Cup replica trophies have been stolen from FIFA headquarters in Johannesburg.

Gen. Bheki Cele said at a security briefing Tuesday “we know that there was a burglary at the FIFA offices where they took seven replicas of the World Cup.”

Cele says official FIFA clothing was also taken.

FIFA said the trophies were taken from a storage room, but there was no sign of a break-in. The trophies, which are usually used as gifts, are about 6 inches tall and worth $256.

Cele added police were looking into the theft and suspected the people responsible were “very familiar with the environment in the FIFA offices.”

FIFA’s headquarters is in the high-class northern Johannesburg suburb of Sandton.