Former Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce has stepped down from the England manager role following the scandal he was revealed to be involved in after an undercover investigation conducted by The Telegraph.
In the report released by the news agency, Allardyce has been accused of encouraging corruption and breaking the terms of his contract with the FA not to mention several legal violations.
The Telegraph sent several journalists undercover as ‘businessmen’ who were running a fictitious company in the Far East. The businessmen’ wanted to seek advice from the manager on how to profit from the Premier League and the transfer market by circumnavigating third party FA rules.
Gareth Southgate will be in charge of the England National team on a temporary basis. He has been assigned the next four international matches, by which time they expect to find a permanent replacement.
The FA and Allardyce mutually agreed that he should leave the role after an emergency meeting was conducted today Here’s what Allardyce had to say after stepping down:
"Further to recent events, the FA and I have mutually agreed to part company.It was a great honour for me to be appointed back in July and I am deeply disappointed at this outcome.This afternoon, I met with Greg Clarke and Martin Glenn and offered a sincere and wholehearted apology for my actions.
Although it was made clear during the recorded conversations that any proposed arrangements would need the FA’s full approval, I recognise I made some comments which have caused embarrassment.
As part of today’s meeting, I was asked to clarify what I said and the context in which the conversations took place. I have co-operated fully in this regard.I also regret my comments with regard to other individuals.”
The FA also released an official statement:
“This is not a decision that was taken lightly but the FA's priority is to protect the wider interests of the game and maintain the highest standards of conduct in football. The manager of the England men's senior team is a position which must demonstrate strong leadership and show respect for the integrity of the game at all times.”
The Telegraph videotaped several of their conversations without his knowledge and have today released it in a detailed report on their website. The FA earlier asked for the complete facts from The Telegraph about the investigation conducted by them.
Here are the official FA Third Party rules, the ones that Allardyce was mentoring the journalists on how to go around:
– Only clubs hold the economic rights of a player
– Transfer fees payable to clubs and not third parties
– Clubs must buy third party interest to register a player
Here are the complete details of the investigation: Sam Allardyce filmed by undercover reporters, encouraging corruption
Allardyce only managed one game for England, a World Cup qualifier against Slovakia that England won 1-0 thanks to a last-gasp winner from Adam Lallana. He was in charge of England for only 67 days.
