LONDON (AFP) — England footballers Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard appeared in court Tuesday to give evidence in the trial of two men accused of selling sports memorabilia with forged signatures.

 The owner of a sporting memorabilia store in Chester, Graeme Walker, and former business partner Faisal Madani stand accused of selling a range of sports items with fake signatures of sports stars.

The memorabilia had been on sale at the Sporting Icons store in Chester as well as on eBay and included so-called autographs from Owen and Gerrard.

The jury at Chester Crown Court heard evidence Monday from a hand-writing expert who said there were “significant” differences between the signature on a framed Liverpool shirt and a signed specimen supplied by Gerrard.

The expert also said that two England armbands did not carry the genuine signatures of Michael Owen as claimed.

Walker faces more than 50 charges of cheating his customers and Madani stands accused of 20 counts of supplying the forgeries.

Both men deny the charges.

The trial continues.

Filed under: Football