‘Del Boy’ football agent paid a bribe, jury is told

A FOOTBALL agent accused of paying and facilitating bribes was a “stupid and naive” businessman who always fell flat on his face like Del Boy from Only Fools And Horses, a court heard.

Dax Price and fellow agent and business partner Giuseppe “Pino” Pagliara jointly deny two counts of paying and facilitating a bribe under the Bribery Act 2000.

Price, of Sittingbourne in Kent, and Pagliara, of Bury, Greater Manchester, are on trial alongside Tommy Wright, the former assistant head coach of Barnsley Football Club, with all three denying charges under the Bribery Act.

Pagliara and Price are accused of breaking football rules by acting as “third party” owners of players to profit when they were sold on to other clubs.

The court previously heard that Price had told undercover Daily Telegraph reporter Claire Newell that club managers were “getting backhanders” to secure lucrative transfer deals.

Wright, 53, allegedly accepted a £5,000 bribe from Ms Newell to leak information about players at Barnsley, the trial heard. Wright, of Barnsley, denies two charges of accepting a bribe.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court heard that 48-year-old Price was “stupid and naive” with “absolutely no business sense whatsoever”.

Former British Airways worker James Hennessy told the court he had known Price for more than 20 years and trusted him. Mr Hennessy compared Price to Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses and added: “Dax is never far away from being a millionaire, he was always the next big deal and he always falls flat on his face.”

When asked how he would describe Price, Mr Hennessy said: “Stupid, naive, absolutely no business sense whatsoever because he kept losing money through stupid deals.”

But Mr Hennessy said that, although Price often “exaggerated”, he did not lie.

The trial continues.