Minister warns football it’s time to clean up the game
ENGLISH football must “get its governance sorted out” and clean up its act, the Culture Secretary has said in her first comments on the scandal that has engulfed the sport. Karen Bradley described The Telegraph’s disclosures as “very very disturbing”, and said the police and tax authorities should be given free rein to investigate.
Her intervention came after Martin Glenn, the Football Association chief executive, promised a full inquiry as the sport’s officials prepare to meet with City of London police this week.
But senior politicians including the acting chairman of the Common’s culture, media and sport committee have expressed concerns the FA is “powerless” to adequately police officials, agents and players.
Last week, Sam Allardyce stepped down from his job as England manager for offering advice on getting around transfer rules and other lapses of judgment after he and a number of high profile figures were secretly filmed during The Telegraph’s 10-month undercover investigation into the game.
The Culture Secretary said: “What we’ve seen this week is very, very disturbing, but this is the opportunity to get to the bottom of it.
“I have spoken to the FA and am very pleased that they are working with the Premier League and across football and taking this very seriously. This
is an opportunity for them to make sure that it is cleaned up. I stand ready to help the FA and others so we clean it up.
“Let’s get transparency. Let’s understand what’s happening. I want to see football get its governance sorted out. When the police need to go in, let the police go in. When the taxman needs to go in, let the taxman go in.”
However, Damian Collins, chairman of the culture, media and sport committee, raised concerns that recommendations in its report on football governance, which called for “urgent reform” five years ago, have not been implemented. “The structure [of the FA] is incredibly weak and therefore the FA seems incapable of exercising its power as what it should be – which is the regulator and governing body of football in England,” he said.
“The FA has become a battleground for the competing vested interests in the game and the FA chair is powerless to do anything about it.” On Friday, Harry Redknapp, the former manager, became the latest name to become embroiled in the investigation after revealing he had learnt that players bet on a game they were playing in, against FA rules.
There is no suggestion of any criminality on Redknapp’s part, or that he knew that the opposition players were betting or that he was aware his own players had bet on the match when it kicked off. His lawyers later said: “He’s not aware of any members of his team having bet on the match.”
The Telegraph has agreed to give transcripts of its investigation to the FA and the police.