So who do we reckon this is ?

[ditchy]

Dramatic new arrest in football fraud probe
By CHARLES SALE - More by this author »

Last updated at 23:01pm on 11th September 2007

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London police have made their most dramatic move yet in football's war against corruption with the arrest of a 28-year-old man on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud on Monday.

And the strong speculation was that the suspect taken into custody by the City of London Police, before being bailed until October, was a well-known Premier League star.



Bung-buster: Lord Stevens headed the transfer probe



The City of London unit would only confirm the arrest, bail provision and age of the man being questioned, adding that it related to their ongoing investigation into football corruption, which started separately from Lord Stevens 'bung' inquiry.

The age of the man arrested matches the age of the star whom police sources were linking with the swoop.

This follows raids by the same London police unit on three football clubs — Newcastle, Portsmouth and Rangers — in July and the arrest of a 61-year-old Manchester man in May.

The footballer in question has not been part of any international squad over the last week, and his club said last night that they had no knowledge of the matter.

The police have been furnished with all the findings of the Stevens Report that examined 362 transfers over 15 months and still had doubts at the end over 17 moves involving five clubs.

And it may be that this latest arrest was connected with the one transfer that Stevens's Quest team did not name in order that another regulatory authority inquiry — understood to be the City of London Police — into transfer misdemeanours would not be jeopardised.

 

[BensGrandad]

What are the odds that somewhere along the way Harry or Big Sam is involved.

 

[Gwylan]

What are the odds that somewhere along the way Harry or Big Sam is involved.

..or Souness.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Gavin McCann...gotta be

 

[ditchy]

Why Gavin Mcann ?
any reason ?

 

[BensGrandad]

The ironical thing about this is that it took Lord Stevens many months and many thousands of pounds to come up with an answer that Tom Bowers stated in his book Broken Dreams.

 

[Jesus Gul]

Why Gavin Mcann ?
any reason ?

he's 28 and played for Big Sam and if you asked the populus if he was guilty they would vote yes

 

[ditchy]

thanks jg

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

Why Gavin Mcann ?
any reason ?

Surely the fact that his surname is McCann is reason enough?

 

[chobby]

he's 28 and played for Big Sam and if you asked the populus if he was guilty they would vote yes

When did he play for Big Sam?

 

[The Wookiee]

Its Craig Bellamy - FACT

 

[The Wookiee]

The footballer in question has not been part of any international squad over the last week, and his club said last night that they had no knowledge of the matter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_of_wales/6985879.stm



Bellamy not involved in the squad last week

 

[blockhseagull]

Its Craig Bellamy - FACT

That is incorrect.... as the article states the player is NOT on international duty this week

 

[The Wookiee]

That is incorrect.... as the article states the player is NOT on international duty this week

Over the LAST week !

 

[Jesus Gul]

When did he play for Big Sam?

shi* you could be right chobby, did McCann join Bolton during little-big Sam's reign. He should no longer have aguido status then

 

[blockhseagull]

Over the LAST week !

But was with the squad when the arrest was made

 

[Napper]

kieron dyer

 

[ditchy]

looks like its him !! The Premier League player questioned as a witness in the inquiry into alleged fraud in football was Pascal Chimbonda, the Tottenham Hotspur defender, The Times can reveal.

Chimbonda, 28, was interviewed on Monday by the City of London Police, although there is no suggestion that he has been involved in any wrongdoing.

The questioning is not thought to be as a result of the £1.3 million inquiry, headed by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington on behalf of the Premier League, into alleged corruption in the game.

A spokesman at White Hart Lane was not prepared to comment last night, but the questioning of Chimbonda will have sent a tremor through the club as well as the rest of the Premier League. Clubs have been waiting anxiously for the final outcome of the Stevens inquiry and investigations by the City of London Police.

Related Links
Premier League today
The Quest team led by Stevens, the former Metropolitan Police commissioner, trawled through 362 transfer deals made over a 15-month period. He is yet to clear 17 deals made at five clubs, amid widespread dissatisfaction that the inquiry did not lead to more concrete results.

Stevens did, however, pass the results of his investigation to the FA, which is deciding whether disciplinary proceedings can or should be brought against individuals named in the inquiry.

The separate City of London Police investigation, though, has been comparatively swift. Apart from an arrest in Manchester, officers raided three clubs – Newcastle United, Portsmouth, plus Rangers, of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League – in July, searching for evidence of corruption, taking away computers and documents as part of their sweep. All three clubs denied any wrongdoing.

The City of London force is said to be concentrating on two transfer deals in January 2005, both of which were among the 17 that Stevens refused to clear. They are the £2 million move from Portsmouth to Newcastle by Amdy Faye, the Senegal midfield player, and Jean Alain Boumsong’s £8.2 million transfer from Rangers to Newcastle. Willie McKay was the agent for both players and also acts for Chimbonda. McKay is thought to be part of the investigation, although he also denies that he has taken part in any wrongdoing.

Chimbonda is a highly rated defender whom Martin Jol, the Tottenham manager, tried to sign several times before finally securing a £4.5 million deal shortly before midnight on the final day of the summer transfer window in August 2006. José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, made an attempt to entice Chimbonda from his North London rivals late last season as he sought cover at right back, so prized is the athletic France player.

Born in Guadaloupe, Chimbonda came to Britain after starting his career in France. Wigan Athletic acquired him for £500,000 on a three-year contract from Bastia in 2005 and he was an instant success, being voted into the Premier League’s 2005-06 team of the season and attracting the attention of several high-profile clubs.

But that unsettled him and McKay was widely accused by Wigan fans of encouraging Chimbonda to put in a transfer request in May 2006. Wigan were furious and decided to take a hard line, consigning him to the reserves and demanding a minimum £6 million transfer fee.

Jol was first in the queue, although his first offer of £2 million was thrown out and it took weeks of negotiation before the Tottenham manager got his man.

 

[BensGrandad]

could this be the real reason why Paul Jewell resigned from Wigan and hasnt applied for any other jobs that have become vacant.