Former England manager Sam Allardyce is not part of the criminal probe into bribery allegations arising from the Daily Telegraph investigation.
City of London Police confirmed to Sky Sports News HQ that Allardyce had received a letter stating he was not involved, while former QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has also been informed he is not part of the investigation.
Allardyce left his role as England boss on September 28 after one game in charge over allegations he discussed how to circumvent rules on player transfers while speaking to undercover reporters.
The 62-year-old, who departed by mutual agreement having overseen England’s World Cup qualifying victory in Slovakia, said in a statement that he welcomed the confirmation.
He said: “I was always confident that this would be the case as there was no evidence against me. I now ask that the Football Association deals with this matter as quickly as possible.
“I would like to thank my friends and family who have stood by me during this difficult period. The position of England head coach is the pinnacle of any English manager’s career and it was my dream job.
“While I am sad that my tenure came to an end early, I am nonetheless proud to have been chosen to manage the England football team and hope that today’s confirmation from the police will give me the opportunity to move on.”
City of London Police revealed that an investigation had been opened into a single suspected case of bribery but stressed that no arrests had been made.
“Detectives from the City of London Police Economic Crime Directorate have reviewed material gathered by a recent Daily Telegraph investigation into suspected corruption in football,” said the statement.
“This review of the material has concluded and the decision has been taken to begin a criminal investigation into a single suspected offence of bribery.”
[Source:-SKY News]
