Police have asked to see transcripts relating to an investigation into alleged corruption in English soccer before they can be released to the English Football Association (FA), the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.
The newspaper said it still intended to provide the FA with “the relevant transcripts”, as it had stated it would earlier in the week.
“However, the police have asked to review this information first. The English Football Association and the Premier League are aware of this,” the paper added in a statement.
The FA had earlier urged the newspaper to provide “full and unfettered disclosure of all available material” from the investigation.
The newspaper’s revelations have so far led to England manager Sam Allardyce and Barnsley assistant manager Tommy Wright losing their jobs.
The long-running investigation by the newspaper also suggested eight current and former Premier League managers had received ‘bungs’, or illicit payments, for player transfers.
Southampton assistant manager Eric Black was the latest to be named in the newspaper investigation and has denied the allegations.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes told reporters yesterday that any wrongdoers should be named without delay.
“If there’s evidence certain individuals have been involved in things they shouldn’t have been, then it’s important those guys are named because if they aren’t then everybody else is guilty by association by virtue of being a manager or coach in football,” he said.
Second tier Queens Park Rangers said they were unable to proceed with an internal investigation into the conduct of manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink because of the lack of detailed information.
“We urge The Telegraph to provide full disclosure of all its information relating to the allegations, including video footage and a full transcript of the discussions that took place,” Queens Park Rangers said in a statement.
“The club believes this information should not be provided selectively, but unedited and unconditionally, in order for the club to view the full context and the sequence of what was said by all parties to in-clude in its investigation.”
The FA said in its statement that it would be meeting with City of London Police next week.
“The FA treats allegations of this nature seriously and is committed to investigating them thoroughly, in conjunction with any other appropriate body,” it added.
Allardyce was sacked on Tuesday after the FA said he had behaved inappropriately following secret filming that showed him offering advice to businessmen on how to circumvent rules on player transfers.