Editorial Comment:

What needs to happen before the governing authorities take seriously the corruption problem in English football? Following an investigation by The Daily Telegraph, Tommy Wright, the former assistant manager of Barnsley FC, was yesterday convicted on two counts of accepting a bribe, while Dax Price, a players’ agent, was found guilty on two counts of paying and facilitating a bribe. Price’s business partner Giuseppe “Pino” Pagliara had already been found guilty on bribery charges.

This issue came to light in 2016 when The

Telegraph published an investigation into allegations of greed and corruption in football. Following a tip-off, undercover reporters posed as representatives of a fictitious Far Eastern firm and filmed the agents boasting that they were able to buy influence with managers through illicit backhanders. Price was revealed to have arranged with Pagliara to pay Wright £5,000 in cash, along with the promise of an additional £5,000, on the understanding that Wright would place the players they represented in Barnsley’s first team, among other favours.

Wright was recorded talking about the “spicy” and “dark” world of football finance, which raises the obvious question: is such criminal activity endemic to football? At the very least, there is surely an argument for a full inquiry by the Football Association, both to get to the bottom of how widespread such behaviour is, and to determine whether current regulations are fit for purpose. This case is a powerful reminder of the importance of a free press, but now the onus is on the football authorities to investigate and fix the problem for good.