Soccer: Inquiry focused on eight clubs

The head of a English Premier League inquiry said today his investigation into alleged irregular payments in transfer dealings was now focused on eight top-flight clubs.

Delivering his interim report into alleged corruption by agents, managers and clubs, former London police chief John Stevens said his seven-month investigation into 362 transfers in a two-year period from January 1, 2004 to January 31, 2006 had been whittled down to 39 that needed further scrutiny.

Stevens, who was given a further two months by the Premier League to complete the inquiry, called for patience, saying his team were in possession of "an unprecedented amount of intelligence".

"The Quest team has managed to examine all 362 transfers and reduce (the number) down to 39 within the English game which require further investigation," Stevens, who did not "name or shame" individuals or clubs, told a news conference at a London hotel.

Stevens said all 29 Premier League clubs coming under his remit in the two-year period had fully co-operated. Four of those - Watford, Sheffield United, Reading and Leeds United - have been eliminated from his inquiry.

Asked if he had found a "bung culture", Stevens refused to answer but said: "There is a large amount of work to be done. We will get to the bottom of what the problems are but you must be patient.

"This, as you know, is not an easy inquiry but we will do everything in our powers to ensure that it is a successful one.

PUBLIC INTEREST

"There is no doubt from what I have seen from the Premier League is an absolute willingness to sort this out now. I don't think anyone can doubt that, bearing in mind some of the media coverage in the past month or two. It's in the public interest to be sorted out now."

The inquiry was instigated by the Premier League after high-profile claims that illicit payments to managers, known as 'bungs', were a common feature of transfer deals.

Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson had told a Sunday newspaper that three unnamed Premier League clubs were involved in such payments. Two managers not in the top flight, Luton Town's Mike Newell and former Queens Park Rangers coach Ian Holloway said they had been offered inducements.

The news conference comes two weeks after a claim by the BBC's Panorama programme that bungs and rule-breaking are widespread in English football. Since the programme the Football Association has said it will strengthen its compliance unit to tackle corruption "head-on".

Stevens said "good co-operation" had been received from football agents who had been "voluntarily" asked to assist the inquiry.

Sixty-five of 150 agents sent letters, and questionnaires had been answered fully covering "roughly 50 per cent of transfers", while some had independently requested meetings. The Football Agents Association Board has urged its members to open their bank accounts to Stevens's team if requested.

Earlier, Stevens had presented his findings to Premier League chairmen. His final report will include recommendations on the administration and monitoring of the transfer market.

Despite such widespread and frequent claims, the only 'bung' case to have led to censure was that of former Arsenal manager George Graham, who was banned for a year in 1995 after accepting 425,000 pounds from an agent involving two transfers.

- REUTERS