Early on Monday, police raided the offices of three prominent British clubs: Newcastle United and Portsmouth of the England’s Premier League and Glasgow Rangers of the Scottish Premier League. The raids were not connected to Lord Stevens’ ongoing inquiry into illegal transfer payments, but they are believed to be part of a wider investigation into corruption in soccer across Britain.
The City of London Police would not disclose which clubs were involved in the greater investigation or the league status of the clubs that were raided this morning. “We can confirm that search warrants were served at three football clubs and the homes of two individuals in connection with corruption in football and its impact on owners and shareholders,” a police statement read.
Rangers, Portsmouth and Newcastle confirmed they had been contacted by police Monday morning. In separate statements, each of them claimed to have cooperated, though Newcastle said, “the club itself is not the subject of the investigation,” suggesting it had been the victim of some kind of criminal activity. More is certainly to follow.