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Eight Premier League Managers Accused of Taking Bribes For Transfer Deals

Eight Premier League managers have reportedly taken bribes for transfer deals, with details emerging from the undercover investigation that cost Sam Allardyce his job as England boss.
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According to the Telegraph, eight Premier League managers have taken bribes for transfer deals, with details emerging from the undercover investigation by the paper that cost Sam Allardyce his job as England boss.

None of the eight have been named, though some minor details about them have emerged. Two managers from the Championship have also been accused of accepting bungs.

The bosses were outed by Pino Pagliara, an unlicensed agent who was banned from the sport for five years after being found guilty of match-fixing in 2005. Pagliara was filmed secretly, along with two other agents, at an Italian restaurant in London.

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The Telegraph will pass transcripts of these conversations to the Football Association and police.

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The newspaper also plans to disclose the name of an assistant manager "at a leading club" who has been filmed "accepting a £5,000 cash payment from undercover reporters posing as representatives of a Far Eastern firm that wanted to invest in players."

Separately, the paper reports that Cardiff City investigated "unexplained payments" linked to Ravel Morrison's loan move from West Ham in 2014. The East London club were managed by Allardyce at the time. The Welsh outfit say they "investigated the matter thoroughly".

The Telegraph further asserts that it has "built up a dossier of secret recordings and other evidence that suggests corruption remains a major problem in the English game," with more revelations expected in the coming weeks.

Arsenal boss George Graham lost his job following a bung scandal in 1995, but no top-flight boss has been publicly outed for taking backhanders since, despite persistent rumours. Graham was banned from management for a year but subsequently returned to manage in the Premier League.