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Major Police Inquiry into Football Fraud
- Thread starter esmufc07
- Start date
Klopp? 
Pep?
Phil Neville?
Lubed horse cock?
At least we've got this far without someone naming a (current) United player
Thiago?
Pepe?
A major police investigation has uncovered evidence that suggests legal disputes in football and other sports may have been corrupted by the submission of misleading documents.
The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) launched a national inquiry, which began with the arrest of two men and the search of premises, after a Times investigation last July into how records of customer bills could be changed by a private phone retailer.
The Times has now learnt that police have found evidence suggesting that various criminal offences have been committed, including conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, perjury and breaches of data protection laws.
It is understood that the cases under scrutiny include legal disputes between players and their agents, transfer wrangles involving agents, players and clubs, and disputes between managers and clubs.
For the past six months the NWROCU has had 14 investigators working on Operation Peony. They have interviewed more than 50 witnesses and it is believed that they have secured evidence from mobile phone networks, as well as sports bodies such as the Football Association (FA) and the British Horseracing Authority. It is understood that the police are looking at as many as 12 separate incidents across sport.
In football, arbitration hearings for the FA or the Premier League are normally chaired by at least one QC and are conducted in private. Participants in football, be they managers, players, agents or club officials, are obliged to resolve any legal disputes in these hearings.
But the police investigation has raised serious concerns that, compared with criminal cases, there may be a
lack of scrutiny when it comes to testing the integrity of evidence in such arbitrations.
Sources have told The Times that, in a criminal case, the police accept mobile phone data and billing from one of the four main network providers in the UK: Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three.
The police are now understood to be concerned that, in sports arbitration hearings, bills may have been accepted as evidence that have been provided by retailers who produce their own billing using data often supplied by an intermediary “virtual” provider, which buys numbers and airtime in bulk from one of the four main networks.
Last July The Times reported that the retailer Sport Mobile, which had a commercial agreement with the League Managers Association (LMA) and provided phones for hundreds of leading figures across British sport, was able to edit bills provided to customers.
One former member of Sport Mobile’s staff signed a witness statement in which he claimed that he helped a top football agent to change phone numbers on his bills before an arbitration hearing in which he was in dispute with a prominent Premier League footballer. There was no suggestion that the footballer had been aware of the claimed action.
The staff member alleged that the agent’s phone bills were altered for a hearing that explored how often the agent had spoken to senior figures — a chief executive and two heads of recruitment — at three other clubs. The staff member also claimed that he travelled to the London office of the agent to collect a list of numbers that had to be inserted, and provided names in his statement He said that the agent wanted the bills to look like he had tried to call other clubs on his client’s behalf.
The staff member, who showed The Times text exchanges between himself and the agent requesting the bills before the hearing, claimed that the changes were made by a colleague. While the agent still lost the legal case, the former employee believed that the bills were accepted as evidence.
John Shepherd, the co-owner of Sport Mobile, denied the claims.
A police statement, issued to The Times today, read: “Detectives from the NWROCU continue to investigate allegations of corruption in relation to legal disputes within sport. The investigation started after a number of allegations were made relating to conspiracy to defraud, perverting the course of justice, perjury and Data Protection Act offences in sporting adjudications.
“The investigation team have spoken to more than 50 witnesses and are following up a number of positive lines of inquiry.”
A police spokesman added: “The investigation is continuing and we have been able to trace and interview witnesses, which will help the investigation team to determine the veracity of the allegations made. We continue to work closely with the respective bodies who regulate sport with a view to expediting the inquiry.”
Sport Mobile has boasted a client list containing some of the biggest names in British sport, and claims to provide an exclusive, bespoke service that includes “secure mobile billing” to players and managers at as many as 16 Premier League clubs. Senior members of the England cricket team and stars from racing and other sports have also been clients.
Former staff claimed that changing bills had been a service offered to clients — a unique selling point for the company.
In August last year the LMA, an organisation that represents England’s elite football managers, suspended its commercial partnership with the phone company. No charges have been brought against Shepherd or Sport Mobile.
When approached, the FA and the Premier League declined to comment on a continuing police investigation.
Anyone with any information that could assist police is asked to call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111
The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) launched a national inquiry, which began with the arrest of two men and the search of premises, after a Times investigation last July into how records of customer bills could be changed by a private phone retailer.
The Times has now learnt that police have found evidence suggesting that various criminal offences have been committed, including conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, perjury and breaches of data protection laws.
It is understood that the cases under scrutiny include legal disputes between players and their agents, transfer wrangles involving agents, players and clubs, and disputes between managers and clubs.
For the past six months the NWROCU has had 14 investigators working on Operation Peony. They have interviewed more than 50 witnesses and it is believed that they have secured evidence from mobile phone networks, as well as sports bodies such as the Football Association (FA) and the British Horseracing Authority. It is understood that the police are looking at as many as 12 separate incidents across sport.
In football, arbitration hearings for the FA or the Premier League are normally chaired by at least one QC and are conducted in private. Participants in football, be they managers, players, agents or club officials, are obliged to resolve any legal disputes in these hearings.
But the police investigation has raised serious concerns that, compared with criminal cases, there may be a
lack of scrutiny when it comes to testing the integrity of evidence in such arbitrations.
Sources have told The Times that, in a criminal case, the police accept mobile phone data and billing from one of the four main network providers in the UK: Vodafone, EE, O2 and Three.
The police are now understood to be concerned that, in sports arbitration hearings, bills may have been accepted as evidence that have been provided by retailers who produce their own billing using data often supplied by an intermediary “virtual” provider, which buys numbers and airtime in bulk from one of the four main networks.
Last July The Times reported that the retailer Sport Mobile, which had a commercial agreement with the League Managers Association (LMA) and provided phones for hundreds of leading figures across British sport, was able to edit bills provided to customers.
One former member of Sport Mobile’s staff signed a witness statement in which he claimed that he helped a top football agent to change phone numbers on his bills before an arbitration hearing in which he was in dispute with a prominent Premier League footballer. There was no suggestion that the footballer had been aware of the claimed action.
The staff member alleged that the agent’s phone bills were altered for a hearing that explored how often the agent had spoken to senior figures — a chief executive and two heads of recruitment — at three other clubs. The staff member also claimed that he travelled to the London office of the agent to collect a list of numbers that had to be inserted, and provided names in his statement He said that the agent wanted the bills to look like he had tried to call other clubs on his client’s behalf.
The staff member, who showed The Times text exchanges between himself and the agent requesting the bills before the hearing, claimed that the changes were made by a colleague. While the agent still lost the legal case, the former employee believed that the bills were accepted as evidence.
John Shepherd, the co-owner of Sport Mobile, denied the claims.
A police statement, issued to The Times today, read: “Detectives from the NWROCU continue to investigate allegations of corruption in relation to legal disputes within sport. The investigation started after a number of allegations were made relating to conspiracy to defraud, perverting the course of justice, perjury and Data Protection Act offences in sporting adjudications.
“The investigation team have spoken to more than 50 witnesses and are following up a number of positive lines of inquiry.”
A police spokesman added: “The investigation is continuing and we have been able to trace and interview witnesses, which will help the investigation team to determine the veracity of the allegations made. We continue to work closely with the respective bodies who regulate sport with a view to expediting the inquiry.”
Sport Mobile has boasted a client list containing some of the biggest names in British sport, and claims to provide an exclusive, bespoke service that includes “secure mobile billing” to players and managers at as many as 16 Premier League clubs. Senior members of the England cricket team and stars from racing and other sports have also been clients.
Former staff claimed that changing bills had been a service offered to clients — a unique selling point for the company.
In August last year the LMA, an organisation that represents England’s elite football managers, suspended its commercial partnership with the phone company. No charges have been brought against Shepherd or Sport Mobile.
When approached, the FA and the Premier League declined to comment on a continuing police investigation.
Anyone with any information that could assist police is asked to call the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111
Klopp getting serious about these penalties.
Fortress Anfield?
Well, that's one way to end Pep and City's title challenge.
We're free a clear from here on it. No one can stop us now.
We're free a clear from here on it. No one can stop us now.
End the season
Wait until city file an appeal!
Hope its Raiola. He did take on Lingard and went their seperate ways very suddenly..
Bald?
After reading that I hope it’s got nothing to do with Ole and Jim Solbakken.
some translate that please?
Slap head
Can someone with a Times subscription post a summary of what is written?
There’s been a bunch of cases go in front of the arbitration panel over the years, this panel doesn’t have the same powers of that of a criminal court so they haven’t been proper investigations.
It’s come to light that they think the panel have been defrauded on a number of occasions where people have submitted phone bills as evidence, only it comes from a third party phone contract supplier who have the ability to edit the bills as the customer sees fit. In the cases they talk about, it’s an agent who has too close a relationship with another club and the agent inserted fake calls to other clubs into his phone bill to prove he’s not just on the payroll of a single club/manager.
That’s the jist of it I think anyway. Someone posted it here and I read before it was deleted.
Wasn't me
They're investigating whether Dan James is actually a professional footballer or not.
Thanks.
It's Ole - I have read so many times here that he is a fraud - finally someone believe them