Big Sam in big strife after video advocating shonky deals airs
ENGLAND soccer team manager Sam Allardyce’s comments in a newspaper sting will be examined by his employers at the Football Association.
Allardyce, who has been in charge for one World Cup qualifying match since succeeding Roy Hodgson as England manager, was filmed by Britain’s Daily Telegraph appearing to advise undercover reporters posing as businessmen on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice.
He was also filmed negotiating a $675,000 deal with a soccer agency and reportedly mocking Hodgson.
FA chairman Greg Clarke told The Times after the Tele
graph story was published online that he wanted “the facts in the morning and I will look into it”.
“With things like this you have to take a deep breath and have all the facts and hear everything from everyone,” Clarke was quoted as saying.
“Then you can make a judgment about what to do and that’s what we will do.”
The Telegraph published its undercover investigation under the front-page headline: “England manager for sale”.
Allardyce met people he reportedly thought were representatives of an Asian firm. In a grainy, edited video, he is recorded as saying it was “not a problem” circumventing FA rules that stop third parties owning the economic rights of players. FIFA has banned third-party ownership as a threat to the game’s integrity.
“You can still get around it,” he said. “I mean obviously the big money’s here.”
The Telegraph also reported that Allardyce told its undercover reporters Hodgson sent his players “all to sleep”.