UPDATE. September 2017: lawyers for Sam Allardyce have contacted us to say that he disputes the allegation that he gave advice on how to circumvent the FA’s rules on third party ownership.
What is Allardyce accused of?
The England manager has been caught on camera giving advice to reporters posing as Far East businessmen on how to “get round rules” about third-party ownership of players. In footage filmed by undercover Telegraph reporters, Allardyce said it was “not a problem” to bypass the rules introduced by his employer, the Football Association, in 2008. He told the reporters he knew of certain agents “doing it all the time” and added: “You can still get around it. I mean obviously the big money’s here.” Allardyce discussed an offer that would see him fly to Singapore and Hong Kong four times a year to address investors in a firm that wanted to buy footballers, for which he would be paid £400,000 a year.
What are the rules banning third-party ownership of footballers?
The controversial practice, which has been likened to slave ownership, was outlawed in the UK in 2008. Last year Fifa imposed a worldwide ban on the practice. The bans are intended to stop third-party owners, such as companies or agents, profiting from players being sold on the transfer market. In 2014 the Guardian revealed that an internal Fifa report found that third-party ownership trapped clubs in a “vicious cycle of debt and dependence” and posed risks to players and to the integrity of the game.
Will Allardyce be sacked?
That rather depends on whether the Telegraph investigation uncovered any more alleged wrongdoing by Allardyce. As it stands, Allardyce will have to explain whether he was merely giving an honest account of what happened in the sport or if he was advising the “businessmen” to follow those practices. If it is the latter it could be serious enough for his position to be in question. Allardyce and his lawyers are likely to point out that he repeatedly told the uncover reporters that he would have to check with the FA before agreeing to take any action and that no wrongdoing took place.
What has been the FA’s response?
The FA, which is both Allardyce’s employer and football’s governing body, has requested full transcripts of the secret recordings. It is due to assess the allegations at meeting at Wembley on Tuesday.
When did third-party ownership first emerge?
Third-party ownership is is still common in many countries, particularly in South America. It became an issue in the UK in 2006 after West Ham United’s controversial deal to buy the Argentinian stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. Under the agreement, Tevez was brought to West Ham from the Brazilian club Corinthians in order to put him in the shop window, and his investors could effectively decide when he was sold, to which club and for how much. It led the Premier League to ban third-party ownership outright but its use as a means for clubs in Spain and Portugal to buy players they might not otherwise be able to afford continues to grow.
Speaking in March last year, Michel Platini, then Uefa president, condemned the use of TPO: “I think we are dealing with a type of slavery that belongs in the past,” he said. “Today it is shameful to see some players with one of their arms belonging to one person, a leg belonging to a pension fund located who knows where and a third person owning his foot.”
