Football scandal grows as FA gets set to investigate
Allegations of corruption in top flight football intensified today as the Football Association said it was prepared to investigate 'bung' claims made by the BBC's Panorama programme.
The long-awaited documentary claimed last night that Bolton manager Sam Allardyce, had allegedly accepted illegal payments - or 'bungs' - in return for signing at least three players.
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• Premiership manager accused of taking bribes in BBC football expose
• The whiff of scandal was the reason Sam wasn't given the England job
• Chelsea accused of 'tapping up' young star
• Men caught up in the drama
The programme featured secretly filmed meetings with three different football agents who said that Allardyce - who was only recently being touted as a possible England manager - was corrupt, and listed a series of deals in which he had allegedly received backhanders.
As well as 'naming and shaming' Allardyce, the programme levelled accusations of wrongdoing against a number of other high-profile footballing figures, including Chelsea's director of youth football Frank Arnesen and Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp.
Today a FA spokesman said: "We have watched the programme with great interest and have asked the BBC if they will share the findings from their investigation with us.
"If we have evidence of possible breaches of rules and regulations, we will of course investigate that."
However, former FA compliance officer Graham Bean warned the Panorama team today that they should be prepared for a "rough ride" following their accusations.
In a column in the Daily Telegraph, he wrote: "Don't get drawn in by the hype. This story has a lot longer to run and the Panorama team should start heading for the bunker now, because it's going to be a rough ride. Some of the accusations they are making are serious, and they will have to be convincing or the BBC will pay.
"I fully accept that the industry cannot keep batting away the rumour and innuendo that surround multi-million pound transfers.
"But the investigation of such matters rests fairly and squarely on the broad shoulders of the Football Association, not some amateur undercover detective with little or no knowledge of true investigative practices."
Although Allardyce has strenuously denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to fight any allegations made against him, Bolton are aware of the potential damage to their reputation and have confirmed they are investigating the situation.
All the other figures named by the programme have also issued denials to the BBC.
