Disgraced Allardyce faces football ban
FA chief executive Martin Glenn says case may be handed to ‘ separate integrity unit’ to review
>> LONDON: Former England manager Sam Allardyce, whose one- match reign ended after being caught up in a newspaper sting, could face suspension, Football Association ( FA) chief executive Martin Glenn said on Friday.
Glenn, who could not say whether 61- year- old Allardyce had received a pay- off when he resigned on Tuesday after just 67 days in the job, admitted charges could be laid at the former manager’s door.
“It is realistic,” said Glenn. “I am pleased t hat t he Daily Telegraph are releasing [ the full transcripts of their investigation] to the police first because that is what has to happen.
“Once we get access to that, we have a separate integrity unit. It ’s very good.
“It’s not for me to call but once the evidence is clear, the decision will be based on the merits of the evidence.”
The latest Allardyce drama came as the Telegraph released details of f or mer t op- f l i ght manager Harr y Redknapp seemingly giving details of how players at a team he managed had gambled on the result of one of their matches.
Redknapp, fi l med without his knowledge, said he was unaware at the time that his players were bett i ng on t he outcome and denies any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, Glenn said Allardyce, whose remarks to the j ournalists posing as Far Eastern businessmen about circumventing the ban on third party ownership of players proved highly damaging, could face a variety of penalties.
“It ranges and it depends,” said Glenn. “It could range from a fine to a ban — that’s what the history has been on those kind of things. But it will be for a tribunal to decide, an independent tribunal.”
Glenn said he felt personally disappointed at the behaviour of the man who was brought in to replace Roy Hodgson after the disappointing Euro 2016 exit.
“[ Do I feel] personally let down? I do,” Glenn said. “I have asked myself a lot about this.
“The easy decision was actually to keep him and tough it out. I do feel let down because I genuinely think for football reasons, he was a really good choice and just what we needed after the Euros.
“Yeah, we knew he was a man of the world, we knew there had been a Panorama programme a few years ago [ Allardyce had been accused of accepting illegal payments 10 years ago but had denied all wrongdoing].
“He’s Sam, he’s loud, he’s brash but he is in the middle of the fair way in terms of behaviour, so I think that the reason I felt let down was I guess the surprise factor of it.”
Redknapp, who was once linked with the England manager’s job, told undercover reporters posing as Asian investors that players at one team he was in charge of had bet on the result of one of their matches.
Doing so is against the rules set out by the Football Association. The players had allegedly bet on themselves to win the match.
The identity of the team and the players involved was not revealed for legal reasons, the broadsheet said.
Asked if he would be interested if the ‘ investors’ went for third- party ownership, Redknapp said: “Absolutely, any way I could help.
“I’d put a few quid [ pounds] in and take a chance with you. I need something to do with my money.”
Approached afterwards by the Telegraph, Redknapp said: “It’s not something that I’ve ever been involved in, and it’s not something that I’d want to get involved in.
“As far as buying players go and me investing, you’ve got to be dreaming. I would not invest, why would I invest in buying footballers?”
Meanwhile, Glenn admitted Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is among the candidates who “perfectly” fit the criteria to take the England job.
England Under- 21 boss Gareth Southgate has been placed in interim charge for the remaining four matches of 2016, giving Glenn, FA chairman Greg Clarke and technical director Dan Ashworth the chance to take their time when recruiting a fulltime successor.
Frenchman Wenger, 66, is out of contract in the summer and would fit the bill, and he even said on Friday: “If I am free one day, why not?”
And Glenn acknowledged: “Of course he’d fit the criteria perfectly. Of course he would, as would a few others.”