From world champion to jewel thief: the grotesque story of Bobby Moore, the English 'Sir' who overshadowed Pelé

"It's only 14 centimeters long, it only weighs eight pounds, but it means we're world champions!" exclaimed the renowned BBC broadcaster Kenneth Wolstenholme as a blond boy raised the Jules Rimet trophy to the sky. England had finally won the World Cup in their most popular and beloved sport. The boy raising the trophy, a winged victory, was named Robert Frederick Chelsea Moore , Bobby Moore to football fans. He had been born 25 years earlier in Barking, an East London suburb very close to West Ham's stadium. His mother gave birth in the Underground station, under the bombing raids of German Heinkel He-111 bombers. By lifting that Cup, won in the final against Germany, he was fulfilling a curious kind of poetic justice.

That young man graced the front page of most newspapers worldwide on July 31, 1966. Proud, smiling, the trophy held high, with Queen Elizabeth II proudly behind him. He would again grace the front pages on May 25, 1970, but in very different circumstances: circumspect, giving a statement at a police station in Bogotá, accused of stealing a valuable bracelet of gold, emeralds, and diamonds from the jewelry store of the hotel where the English team had stayed on their way to the World Cup in Mexico. The scandal was enormous. How could it have been? Moore was an exemplary man, a clean-cut defender, with excellent ball control both short and long, courteous to referees, measured in his statements. He was a Knight of the Order of the British Empire, styled Sir, a friend of the royal family, of the Beatles , a source of pride for football and England. A perfect gentleman turned into someone capable of stealing a jewel while the shopkeeper was momentarily distracted. It didn't add up.

The Three Lions were in Bogotá as part of their preparations for the upcoming World Cup, which they entered as defending champions. I should mention here that their 1966 title was viewed with reservations outside of England, due to the refereeing decisions they received and their phantom goal in the final. This was especially true in South America. The World Cup on British soil created a serious divide in football between that part of the world and England. Brazil returned humiliated, with Pelé badly injured due to the referee's leniency towards his markers from Bulgaria and Portugal; Uruguay, who started with a draw against England, fell in the quarterfinals to Germany with two players sent off after the referee turned a blind eye when, with the score at 0-0, defender Schnellinger punched away a ball that was heading into the German net (the photo leaves no doubt); Argentina suffered the infamous expulsion of Rattín on the same day. The interpretation was: an English referee ruined Uruguay against Germany, and a German referee did the same to Argentina against England. All of that left behind a collective resentment against Europe and its dealings in FIFA, against Stanley Rous , an Englishman and its president, and against all of England and its imperial pride.

Now the English national team crossed the ocean carrying the old Jules Rimet trophy, which was to be used in the tournament in Mexico. Many of the champions were back in the squad. The manager, Alf Ramsey , was the same, and the distinguished Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore were also present. On July 18th, they landed in Bogotá, as Ramsey had decided to complete their preparations with two matches in the Americas, both at altitude, as would be the case in Mexico. First on the 20th, in Bogotá, then on the 24th, in Quito. And from there, after another stopover in the Colombian capital, the final leg of their journey to Mexico.

The group was staying at the Hotel Tequendama, the best in the city, renowned for its amenities and a must-visit for wealthy tourists, unaware of the unsettling rumors circulating in the city that it was haunted by the souls of the many suicides who chose the ravine on which it was built to end their lives. The players showered and, bored, went down to wander around the hotel lobby . The facilities included a jewelry store whose name, Fuego Verde (Green Fire), alluded to the color and brilliance of the emerald, the country's national treasure.

Charlton went in looking for a gift for his wife. A gold bracelet set with emeralds and diamond teardrops caught his eye. The saleswoman, Clara Padilla , took it out of the display case and showed it to him, but he couldn't decide, so she put it away. Moore was with him, and inside the store were also the national team manager, Ramsey, and Peter Thompson , one of the substitutes. They then went back outside to stroll around the hall until suddenly the saleswoman appeared shouting, "Theft! Theft!" The store owner, Danilo Rojas , had ordered her to raise the alarm because he claimed to have seen Bobby Moore stealing the bracelet from his office. Padilla accused him, and the commotion in the hall , which was full of journalists, was tremendous. The police arrived, Moore allowed himself to be searched peacefully, and nothing was found. Bobby Charlton was also searched, in case they had made a combined effort and he had passed it on, but nothing was found in his tracksuit either.

After 15 minutes of commotion, the onlookers dispersed and the police began their investigation. Ramsey and the hotel manager begged the English and local journalists to ignore the incident. All complied except for a young Colombian reporter, Germán Castro Caycedo , who published a short piece in El Tiempo beginning with the subsequent loss (or theft) of Bobby Charlton's wallet, followed by a brief account of an incident involving Bobby Moore. Castro Caycedo would later become a celebrity journalist and writer.

Without further problems, England plays on the 20th at El Campín, Millonarios' stadium, against Colombia, and wins 0-4. On the 21st they fly to Quito, where on the 24th they repeat the victory, this time against Ecuador, by 0-2.

The return trip was scheduled with a layover in Bogotá, where they would spend eight hours before flying to Mexico. Someone suggested changing the plan and stopping in Panama, in case there were any unpleasant surprises in Bogotá, but it was dismissed. " He who has nothing to hide has nothing to fear ," Moore, who was consulted, essentially said. So they followed the plan, and by mid-morning they were already at the Tequendama Hotel, killing time before heading to the airport. To pass the time, they went into the hotel's movie theater, where Shenandoah ( The Valley of Violence, in Spanish), starring James Stewart and set during the Civil War, was playing.

Moore is completely absorbed in the film, completely at ease, when someone taps him on the shoulder. He finds himself face to face with two officers who escort him outside and show him an arrest warrant for the theft of the bracelet. A commotion ensues, and the screening is abruptly halted. Ramsey, flustered, makes the indiscreet remark that Moore has the money to buy the hotel if he wants, a comment that wounds local pride. But there's no way around it; he's arrested and taken to the police station for questioning.

Six days remain until the World Cup, eight until England's first match against Romania. His teammates want to stay, but in the end, it's decided that the expedition must continue, leaving behind two federation officials, Denis Follows and Andrew Stephen , who are soon joined by the ambassador, Sir Thomas Edward Rogers . Moore gives his initial statement and is informed that he will have to spend the night in jail to appear before the judge the following morning. Alfonso Senior , president of Millonarios (the club that transferred Di Stéfano to Real Madrid) and of the Colombian Football Federation, a powerful figure in FIFA, then appears. Thanks to his influence, he manages to get the commissioner to allow the player to serve his detention at Senior's own home, permitting police officers to be present for surveillance. At the same time, he hires a leading lawyer for his defense: Vicente Laverde Aponte , a former minister, a tough lawyer with a proven track record of winning difficult cases. Meanwhile, in England, it's already the early hours of the morning. The printing presses stopped after starting up to include the sensational news, along with some photos of the interrogation. England woke up to this shock, which would be the BBC's main story throughout the day.

Meanwhile, Judge Pedro Mayo was one of the few Colombian citizens with absolutely no knowledge of football. He didn't know who Moore was or what the World Cup was, and when questioned by reporters, he estimated that the case would take three months. Harold Wilson , the British Prime Minister , addressed the issue in the Cabinet and established a direct line from 10 Downing Street to the embassy. In Mexico, Charlton requested to return to help Moore with his testimony, but he was not allowed to.

On the 26th, the judge conducted a reconstruction of the events. It was then that they learned why the case had been reopened: the store manager, Danilo Rojas, had encountered a passerby named Álvaro Suárez who claimed to have seen Moore stealing the bracelet through the display window. However, neither the witness's angle of vision (who turned out to be a petty criminal with a history of arrests) allowed him to see the display case, nor, as was later verified, could Moore's fingers have fit through the opening.

On the 27th, the judge took statements from Danilo Rojas, Álvaro Suárez, and Clara Padilla in front of Judge Laverde Aponte, who had little trouble dismantling their contradictions, from the value of the jewel, which they repeatedly raised from $500 to $1,400 and finally to $4,000, to their description of the scene. Diplomatic pressure and the lawyer's insistence led the judge to lift the arrest that same day after the embassy deposited the jewel. On the 28th, Moore boarded a ship to Mexico. In Senior's spacious garden, he had been able to exercise and even play soccer with the police officers guarding him. He was in shape, although he had lost three kilos due to nerves.

Moore played in all four of England's matches, including the opening 1-0 victory against Romania. The second match was against Brazil, which they won 1-0 with a goal from Jairzinho ; at the end of the game, Pelé offered Moore his jersey in what appeared to be an apology for the incident in Bogotá. He then showered Moore with praise: "He is the player who has influenced me most in my life, and the most sportsmanlike." England won their third group match 1-0 against Czechoslovakia, before losing to Germany 3-2 in extra time.

Weeks later, the judge dismissed the case due to lack of evidence.

Moore extended his international career to 105 matches, captaining the team 90 times, equaling the record of the legendary Billy Wright . In 1981, he starred alongside Pelé in John Huston 's Escape to Victory . He died very young, at 51, from colon cancer. By then, the case had been reopened and resolved, revealing it to be a staged robbery by Danilo Rojas. He went to prison, but it barely made the news. I learned about it there, from a Colombian colleague. It was hardly publicized, as it was considered shameful. Clara Padilla was living in New York when the retrial took place.