A man has been sentenced for stalking Liverpool player Marie Höbinger. He received a two-year restraining order and 18 months of community service.
Mangal Dalal, 42, from London, sent many wrong messages to Marie Höbinger on Instagram. The messages went from 27 January to 16 February 2025. They included sexual words, his phone number, postcode, and pictures of underwear. He asked her to visit him and said he wanted babies with her. He even went to her game in Manchester on 16 February and waited near the pitch after it ended. A steward saw him and told the team's safety officer.
The messages made Höbinger feel scared and unsafe at home. She felt a lot of worry, which hurt her talks with fans at games. The stress made her skin problem worse. It stopped her sleep and made her fear in her home. She also got hurt with an ACL injury in that Manchester game and is now out of action.
Dalal lives in Marylebone or Hyde Park Gardens in London. He said he was guilty of stalking at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court in December 2025. On 20 January 2026, at Westminster Magistrates' Court, District Judge Hina Rai called his actions very serious. She noted how the messages hurt Höbinger's daily life. He must do 25 days of rehab with his 18-month community order. He owes the court 764 EUR in costs and surcharge. He cannot go to Liverpool’s training ground at Melwood or their home stadiums at St Helens or Anfield.
Dalal's lawyer said his client had a mental health problem at the time. He has bipolar disorder and was in a manic time with crazy thoughts. Dalal was found barefoot preaching on streets then. He sent a sorry note to Liverpool for Höbinger. Before this, he had a good record.
