Five clubs named in Stevens probe

Dmac · 06-15-2007, 10:57 AM

Five clubs named in Stevens probe

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Seventeen transfers and five clubs have been named in Lord Stevens' findings from his inquiry into alleged illegal payments by Premier League clubs.

Chelsea, Newcastle, Bolton, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough were all named as having breached transfer regulations.

The clubs face a further investigation from the Football Association but it is understood Newcastle and Bolton are viewed as the most serious miscreants.

Stevens has also expressed concern about 15 agents and two managers.

One is Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce, and a conflict of interest with his former agent son Craig and Bolton Wanderers.

The other is Graeme Souness, with with Stevens reporting "inconsistencies in evidence" provided by the former Newcastle manager and Kenneth Shepherd, son of Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd.

Of the 17 transfers, four relate to Newcastle signings (Emre Belozoglu, Jean Alain Boumsong, Amady Faye, Albert Luque), four to Bolton (Ali Al-Habsi, Tal Ben Haim, Blessing Kaku, Julio Correia), three to Chelsea (Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Michael Essien), three to Portsmouth (Collins Mbesuma, Benjani Mwaruwari, Aliou Cisse) and two to Middlesbrough (Aiyegbeni Yakubu and Fabio Rochemback) while one transfer has not been disclosed.

Lord Stevens said in a statement: "Many lessons have been learned and strict adherence to and enforcement of the recommendations should ensure that the game and the transfer market can proceed in an untainted and transparent manner."

The Premier League will now send the findings to the FA and Fifa.

An FA spokesman said: "Following the final report of the Premier League's Quest Inquiry, the FA will give full consideration to its contents and the documentation that is due to be passed on by the Premier League and Quest.

"The FA has provided full co-operation and support to the Premier League and Quest and will now go through their information as part of our governance and regulation process. This will determine what action is required."

Credit - BBC Sport

The Phantom · 06-15-2007, 11:06 AM

I'm not supprised by any of those clubs to be honest. I wrote a list of 5 clubs when I saw the title, and appart from Boro (where I'd put West Ham) I'd got them all right. Some points or heavy fines need to be dished out. Hopefully it's points deduction as this is the only method that will hurt clubs.