Remember the so-called “bungs” scandal that threatened to bring the English Premier League’s shady transfer system to its knees? Well, former Police Commissioner Lord Stevens has now finished his inquiry into alleged illegal payments made between clubs and players’ agents in some 17 transfers.
Chelsea, Newcastle, Bolton, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth were all named in Stevens’ report along with 15 player agents, including Pini Zahavi, who has close links to Chelsea, in particular. Former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce and former Newcastle manager Graeme Souness were also named in the report, Allardyce for having a conflict of interest with his son Craig, a former agent, and Souness for providing “inconsistencies in evidence” compared with other Newcastle officials. The EPL will now send the findings to FIFA and the English Football Association to investigate the matter further.
Of the 17 transfers that will come under greater scrutiny, there are four Newcastle signings, including those of Emre Belozoglu and Jean Alain Boumsong, three Chelsea signings, including Didier Drogba, Petr Cech and Michael Essien, three Portsmouth signings, four from Bolton, two from Middlesbrough and one that is as-yet undisclosed.