Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 1082 Sun. June 17, 2007  
   
Sports


Barclays English Premier League
Enquiry implicates top transfers
Drogba, Cech, Essien deals suspect


The deal which took Didier Drogba to Chelsea, the 'super-agent' Pini Zahavi and Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce all face further investigation after 17 transfers were identified as suspect in a report presented to the FA Premier League on Friday.

The report, drawn up by former London police chief Lord Stevens following a 15-month investigation, identifies five clubs -- Chelsea, Newcastle, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth -- as having acquired players in deals which could not be cleared as legitimate.

But Stevens, who examined a total of 362 transfers for evidence of wrong-doing, concluded there was no evidence of illegal payments to club officials or players and stressed that all the clubs named had fully cooperated with his investigation.

The former police chief does however express serious concerns over the conduct of 15 agents, including Zahavi, an Israeli agent who is one of the most high-profile figures in the game.

Stevens recommends that Zahavi should be subject to a FIFA investigation, prompting an accusation from the agent's lawyer that his client was being unfairly victimised.

"My client believes he has been targeted because he is successful and enjoys a high profile in the football world," the lawyer, Ehud Shochatovitch, said.

Two managers -- Sam Allardyce, the former Bolton boss now in charge at Newcastle, and former Newcastle manager Graeme Souness -- are also placed firmly in the spotlight.

The report highlights "inconsistencies" in the evidence provided by Souness and Kenneth Shepherd, the son of Newcastle chairman Freddie Shepherd.

In the case of Allardyce, it identifies a possible conflict of interest arising from the fact that his son Craig Allardyce, a former agent, was involved in transfer dealings with the club.

The findings of Lord Stevens will now be passed to either the English Football Association (FA) or football's world governing body FIFA, depending on where the individuals identified are registered, for possible disciplinary action.

Despite finding evidence of wrong-doing in the cases he has highlighted, Stevens said that he was satisfied transfer dealings involving English clubs were largely free of corruption.

"Many lessons have been learned and strict adherence to and enforcement of the recommendations should ensure that the game and the transfer market can proceed in an untainted and transparent manner," Stevens said.

Of the 17 transfers, four relate to Newcastle signings (Emre Belozoglu, Jean Alain Boumsong, Amady Faye, Albert Luque), four to Bolton (Ali Al-Habsi, Tal Ben Haim, Blessing Kaku, Julio Correia), three to Chelsea (Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Michael Essien), three to Portsmouth (Collins Mbesuma, Benjani Mwaruwari, Aliou Cisse) and two to Middlesbrough (Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Fabio Rochemback).

The player and club involved in the 17th transfer were not identified.

British Sports Minister Richard Caborn urged the FA and FIFA to crack down on agents who had not cooperated with the inquiry.

"While it's pleasing to hear that all clubs and officials have cooperated fully with the Stevens inquiry, I am deeply concerned that some agents haven't," Caborn said.

"It's now for the FA and FIFA to pursue these agents vigorously and they will have my support every step of the way. The role of agents in football will always be controversial and that's why they need proper regulation at national, European and international level."

The report was critical of Zahavi's failure to cooperate fully with the inquiry having initially failed to disclose his involvement in a number of transfers then refused to provide bank statements requested by investigators.

"There remain questions relating to his relationship with and payments to (British agent) Barry Silkman and Barry Silkman's failure to initially disclose his involvement in all the transactions in which he received fees," the report notes.