Just one game old Sam Allardyce’s job as England’s football manager has been put on the line after journalists revealed a series of comments that Allardyce made to them, thinking they’re businessmen.
The English Football Association was seeking urgent answers from Allardyce on Tuesday after he appeared to offer advice on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice and was negotiating a 400,000-pound public speaking contract with the fake businessmen.
Allardyce has stayed silent since the video was first published by Britain’s Daily Telegraph under the front-page headline ‘England manager for sale’ on Monday night.
Football Association chairman Greg Clarke who said he wasn’t informed enough to take any action yet, told The Times of London:
With things like this you have to take a deep breath and have all the facts and hear everything from everyone. Then you can make a judgment about what to do and that’s what we will do. Natural justice requires us to get to the bottom of these issues before we make any decision.
Allardyce met people he reportedly thought were representatives of an Asian firm. In a grainy, edited video, he is recorded as saying it was “not a problem” to circumvent FA rules that stop third parties from owning the economic rights of players.
FIFA has banned third-party ownership as a threat to the game’s integrity because investors force transfers to make a profit. “You can still get around it,” the former Sunderland and West Ham manager said. “I mean obviously the big money’s here.”
Allardyce told the undercover reporters that predecessor Roy Hodgson sent his players “all to sleep.” Allardyce also mimicked Hodgson’s speech impediment. He also questioned why Prince William, who is president of the FA, did not appear at last week’s London launch of the 2020 European Championship. Wembley Stadium will host the semifinals and final of the tournament.
It would have been nice if he’d have turned up but he obviously had more, much busier things on.Sam Allardyce
Allardyce, who was hired in July after England’s shocking loss to Iceland at the European Championship in France, is preparing for England’s second 2018 World Cup qualifier against Malta next month.
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