England coach claims that corruption is rife in the
Premiership
Jan 23, 2006
The Straits Times
LONDON - SVEN-GORAN Eriksson's future as England coach is once
again being called into question after he claimed that the English
Premier League is riddled with corruption.
His employer, the Football Association, had been expecting nothing
more sinister in yesterday's News of the World revelations than
some sexual tittle-tattle involving a former secretary, Faria
Alam.
But it would have been shocked to the core by his allegations that
managers in England's top league routinely take bungs, or
kickbacks, reported The Telegraph.
The FA - and Eriksson - were in damage control last week, with the
coach making grovelling apologies to his players and the FA
presenting a supportive front.
The Swede, who made all the remarks to an undercover journalist
disguised as a wealthy Arab, said last Friday that he was taking
legal action against the British tabloid.
The 57-year-old had told the fake sheik that he would be interested
in taking over as manager of Aston Villa if England win the World
Cup.
He also made indiscreet remarks about several of his players.
He has not contested the paper's account of his remarks but claims
they were distorted by being taken out of context.
The lawyers for Eriksson and his agent, Athole Still, will attempt
to convince England's High Court that the newspaper had been guilty
of an illegal 'breach of confidence'.
But a spokesman for the paper said then that it stood by the story
100 per cent and promised 'further revelations', which have now
been published.
Eriksson's corruption claims are far more damaging and he is said
to have named three prominent clubs.
The question on everyone's lips is: If he had such intimate
knowledge of illegal transfer dealings, then did he not have a
moral duty to pass on everything he knew to the FA?
And if he did so, why did the FA not launch an immediate,
full-scale investigation into his claims?
Eriksson apparently named two 'corrupt' managers during his meeting
with the reporter.
He described one, who appears regularly on television, as 'the
worst', while his agent Still, is accused of describing another
well-known manager as someone who pulled off a 'big scam'.
Asked whether managers always get involved with transfers, Eriksson
is said to have answered: 'Yeah, they put money in their
pockets.'
If he said nothing of this to the FA, then his position is surely
untenable, even if England's hopes of winning the World Cup are
severely damaged by his removal as coach.
And, if he can prove that he did tell his employer, then the FA
would face serious questions about its suitability to run the
national game.
The accusations could not have come at a worse time for English
football, only a few days after Luton manager Mike Newell was
summoned to the FA headquarters to substantiate his claims that
bungs are rife in the game.
FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said on Saturday: 'There will be no
comment tonight on any allegations that have been made. We will
reflect on them and assess them again in the morning.'
The most relevant question to be asked of Eriksson is how he had
such detailed information about the black market practices of club
managers.
And why, with no evidence that he had passed it on to the
authorities, did he do nothing to inform them or attempt to prevent
it?
Following last week's revelations, the FA, while privately
concerned by his conduct, made it clear his position was not under
threat.
Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, a member of the FA's
international committee, said: 'There is no doubt that he probably
regrets certain things that have happened over the years.
'But, in the end, we have to move on.'