MAN SENTENCED FOR STALKING LIVERPOOL FC WOMEN’S PLAYER
A man has been sentenced for stalking Liverpool FC women’s player Marie Höbinger with inappropriate and sexualised messages.Mangal Dalal, aged 42, residing at Hyde Park Gardens in Westminster London, persistently sent messages to the player via Instagram from 27 January 2025 to 16 February 2025.
The messages frequently contained sexually explicit content, along with his phone number and postcode.
He also requested her to visit him and suggested he would attend her matches to see her.
Ms Höbinger grew increasingly alarmed by his behaviour, leading her to block him and notify Liverpool FC.
Despite this, on 16 February, Dalal traveled to an away game of the LFC women’s team in Manchester and waited at the sideline after the match concluded.
A stadium steward noticed Dalal and contacted Liverpool FC’s safety officer, who had been accompanying Ms Höbinger to matches due to safety concerns.
Dalal was subsequently identified as the stalker.
He was later questioned by police and admitted to the conduct in a prepared statement, claiming he was mentally unwell at the time.
The Crown Prosecution Service charged Dalal with stalking, and on Thursday, 4 December 2025, he pleaded guilty at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court.
Further proceedings on 20 January 2026 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court ordered him to pay £764 in court costs, and he received an 18-month community order requiring him to complete 25 days of a Rehabilitation Activity.
A Restraining Order was issued by the court upon application by the CPS, prohibiting Dalal from contacting or approaching Marie Höbinger directly or indirectly through electronic communications, including social media.
The order also bans him from entering Melwood Training Ground and Liverpool FC Women’s home matches, among other specified locations, and is valid until 19 January 2028.
