England manager Sam Allardyce investigated after secret video surfaces
England manager Sam Allardyce used his position to negotiate a £400,000 ($518,460 USD) deal and offering advice to businessmen on how to circumvent FA rules on player transfers, according to an investigation by The Telegraph.
In a video posted on the Telegraph's website, Allardyce can be seen meeting twice with journalists who posed as representatives of a Far East agency. The journalists said they were interested in learning how to skirt the rules from the Football Association and FIFA concerning third-party ownership, which has been prohibited since 2008.
When asked by the undercover reporters if third party ownership was a problem, Allardyce replied. “It’s not a problem… we got Valencia in. He was third party owned when we bought him from Mexico.”
"You can still get around it. I mean obviously the big money's here," Allardyce added. He also calls the regulations "ridiculous."
Allardyce attended the meeting with his agent and financial adviser.
"With things like this you have to take a deep breath and have all the facts and hear everything from everyone," FA chairman Greg Clark said to the Times of London. "Then you can make a judgment about what to do and that's what we will do. Natural justice requires us to get to the bottom of these issues before we make any decision."
The Times also reported that Allardyce is set to be sacked after the allegations surfaced.
Allardyce also told the reporters that former England manager Roy Hodgson sent his players "all to sleep" and then mimicked a speech impediment.
Allardyce was hired in July after England's loss to Iceland at Euro 2016. England is prepping for its second 2018 World Cup qualifier against Malta in October.
- Scooby Axson
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