The City of London police's investigation into corruption in football took a dramatic turn yesterday as they confirmed that Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp has been arrested, questioned and released on bail as part of the enquiry. The Times reports:
'Harry Redknapp was in defiant mood despite his arrest yesterday in the biggest criminal inquiry into British football. On being released from police custody after several hours of questioning, the Portsmouth manager insisted "that's the end of it" and that it was "other people involved".
'Speaking from his home in Poole, Dorset, Redknapp maintained that he faces no further interviews by officers investigating corruption and malpractice in transfer dealings.
'Redknapp, who had been third favourite with bookmakers to take charge of England after Steve McClaren's dismissal, was among five people arrested yesterday morning by the City of London force on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.
'City of London detectives have told the Crown Prosecution Service that their inquiry has superseded a separate investigation into "bungs" carried out by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington. "These arrests should not be seen as an examination of an alleged bungs culture," a source close to the investigation said. "The police have been looking at a range of possible financial crimes, including money-laundering and tax offences."
'Yesterday's arrests were not the first. Pascal Chimbonda, the Tottenham Hotspur defender, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud in September, as well as an unnamed 61-year-old in connection with alleged money laundering, in the same investigation. Both have been bailed, without charge, until January.'
Another article in the Times seems to suggest that there will be some within the game who aren't all that surprised that it is Redknapp who is involved:
'He (Redknapp) had a chapter devoted to him in Broken Dreams, the book by Tom Bower that won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year prize in 2003 and which suggests that Terence Brown, the former chairman of West Ham United, was concerned that Redknapp was taking bungs from agents.
'Then there was the Panorama investigation last season that secretly filmed Redknapp discussing Andy Todd, a Blackburn Rovers defender at the time, with a bogus agent. Redknapp came out of the programme blameless, but there will always be those who imagine that the programme must have had reason to target him.
'Members of the press have usually hung on Redknapp's words because they know he is quotable. And it is a measure of their regard that anything he says off the record stays there. So although some will regard yesterday as a day that they saw coming, few will enjoy reporting it.
'Redknapp has recently revealed that stress has got to him, with the pressure to deliver results giving him sleepless nights and an addiction to a sleeping potion. Perhaps there were other pressures he chose not to reveal.'
And for those who haven't been following the developments that closely, the Guardian has printed a summary of the case so far:
'It all started with a tip-off. Police were informed last October of a suspicious piece of business and the case was referred to the City of London force's economic crimes unit. Its highest-profile measure was to conduct early-morning raids in July on three football clubs and the homes of two individuals. The clubs involved were Rangers, Newcastle and Portsmouth. But police had already made what appears to have been a significant arrest. That was of a 61-year-old from Manchester, who is believed to have been an accountant. Then Pascal Chimbonda, the Tottenham Hotspur defender, was detained in September on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud. Both men were bailed until October, a date that was then deferred until January. McKay, Chimbonda's agent, publicly admitted having paid the France international £18,000 but said it was a loan because the player "was a bit short" after his £4.5m move to Spurs.
'McKay was also arrested yesterday, but the development is more likely to have related to another of his clients, Amdy Faye, for whom he acted in the Senegal international midfielder's move from Fratton Park to Newcastle United. That deal was one of 17 transfers that the Quest inquiry into Premier League transfers - led by the former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens - refused to "sign off" as satisfactory this year.
'Quest's final report highlighted the unusual relationship between Redknapp and McKay. The agent, who despite living in the north of England and operating in the Premier League is regulated by the Scottish Football Association, shares with Redknapp a passion for horse racing. McKay owns a stables called Martin Grange Racing and registered a race horse in the name of Harry Redknapp. "Redknapp has confirmed that this could well have happened though it was a very unsuccessful horse that resulted in no material gain or reward for him," found Quest in its final report released in June. "There is no evidence that this transaction is related to any specific transfer, more a consequence of a long-term personal association."
'That association does stretch back a long time, with McKay having delivered players such as Titi Camara and Rigobert Song to Redknapp while he was manager of West Ham United as far back as seven years ago. McKay spent several years trading out of Monaco, where he also assisted police inquiries into allegations of corruption in the game, and has a portfolio of French-speaking players on his client list.'