Anichebe Demands Police Apology

�crit par Danielle NJOCK

16-03-2009

Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe demanded an apology from British police on Thursday after being confronted by officers who thought the English Premier League player was part of a gang of violent jewel thieves.

Anichebe and a friend were innocently peering in the window of a jewellery store in the affluent town of Knutsford, Cheshire, when police pounced, believing the pair were scouting the premises.

As a row ensued with the 20-year-old Everton striker, who is on crutches after undergoing surgery on a knee injury last week, his friend was handcuffed.

The pair were finally released when officers realised their mistake, but the incident had left Anichebe upset and distressed, a spokesman for Everton said.
The player was waiting for detectives to say sorry but had so far heard nothing.

"We would now expect him to receive a full and unreserved apology from the police, and both he and the club would then consider the matter closed," the spokesman said.

Cheshire Police said local closed circuit TV operators were monitoring jewellers in Knutsford and the surrounding area following a spate of violent robberies, and had reported that Anichebe and his friend were acting suspiciously.

"Police attended the location within minutes and upon speaking with the two men, a heated dialogue developed in an attempt to ascertain exactly what the two persons were doing outside the jeweller’s premises," a police statement said.

"It was subsequently ascertained that there was no criminal conduct whatsoever on behalf of the two men concerned."