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The Football Association is
investigating allegations England manager Sam Allardyce used his role to
negotiate a £400,000 deal and offer advice on how to "get around" rules
on player transfers.
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| The FA banned third-party ownership following the discovery that the economic rights of Argentina players Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were owned by two offshore companies when they joined West Ham in 2006 |
During the meeting with the businessmen, who were undercover reporters, it is alleged Allardyce said it was "not a problem" to bypass the rules and he knew of agents who were "doing it all the time".
It is alleged by the paper that a deal was struck with the England boss worth £400,000, which could represent a conflict of interest if he is paid by a company whose footballer clients could benefit from preferential treatment by an international manager.
Third-party ownership, in which investment companies take a stake in the economic rights of players, was described as a form of "slavery" by Michel Platini, the former president of European football's governing body Uefa president.
World football's governing body Fifa banned the practice in May last year. Allardyce attended the meeting with the fictitious businessmen in London along with his agent, Mark Curtis, and his financial adviser, Shane Moloney.
During the meeting he said Enner Valencia had been under a third-party ownership agreement when he signed the Ecuador forward for £12m for West Ham from Mexican club Pachuca in 2014, but that the third-party ownership ended on the transfer and the Hammers acquired the player "whole".
Curtis and Moloney have not yet responded to the allegations. Allardyce is due to name his squad on Sunday for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, including his first Wembley match in charge against Malta on 8 October (17:00 BST kick-off).