1970: Bobby Moore cleared of stealing

The England soccer captain, Bobby Moore, has been cleared of stealing an emerald bracelet in Colombia.

Moore, who captained England to World Cup victory in 1966, was accused of taking the �600 ($1,500) bracelet from the Green Fire shop in the Tequendama Hotel, Bogota, last month.

Police and judicial investigators have long indicated that Moore was set up, and today the Bogota Superior Court ruled he should have "unconditional freedom".

The three judges also confirmed a decision made by Judge Pedro Dorado on 28 May that there was no evidence to warrant jailing England's legendary footballer.

House arrest

On 18 May Mr Moore went into the shop with fellow player Bobby Charlton to find a present for Charlton's wife.

The store owner, Danilo Rojas, and his assistant, Carla Padilla, called the police after the two men had left the shop.

The police arrived and took statements and the footballer denied the allegations.

On 25 May, Mr Moore, was charged and placed under house arrest at the home of a local football official but was freed three days later with conditions, so that he could play in the World Cup in Mexico.

One witness, Alvaro Suarez, said he had seen the bracelet in Moore's pocket.

But today the chief of police, Jaime Ramirez, indicated Mr Moore had been the victim of a frame-up and that Mr Suarez had been paid by Mr Rojas to testify against the England football star.

It is believed the plan was to either blackmail Mr Moore and get publicity for the jewellery shop and even to damage England's morale ahead of the World Cup.

Mr Moore, now back in the UK, will not have to report to the Colombian Consulate, but if he ever returned to Colombia he may be asked further questions in relation to the theft as further investigations are still under way.

Rojas and Suarez will be questioned by the judge - but Ms Padilla is believed to have gone to the United States.

The First Secretary at the British Embassy in Bogota, Keith Morris, welcomed the ruling but said the judges had decided a "legal technicality" and that the case was by no means closed.

Bobby Moore was named Footballer of the Year 1963-64 and awarded an OBE 1967.

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