Tottenham find themselves in hot waters after allegedly breaking ‘potentially serious breaches of agent rules’ for a transfer made 15 years ago.
This has to do with the transfer of Jermaine Defoe back in 2008. According to The Times, the club sold him to Portsmouth for £7.5m but agent Mitchell Thomas who was one of the key figures to broker the deal apparently did not have the license to operate as an agent.
No action was taken by the Football Association at the time, but it is understood the governing body are prepared to review the allegations.
🔺 EXCLUSIVE: The Football Association has said it is prepared to review evidence of potentially serious breaches of agent rules in a transfer involving Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth and Jermain Defoe ⬇️
— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) November 21, 2023
A spokesperson for the FA said (via The Times):
“The case was heard by an independent arbitration panel 15 years ago.”
“The FA was not a party to the arbitration. It is unclear how much information was shared with the FA at the time, and no disciplinary action was taken. If there is new evidence which was not available at the time, and which suggests serious breaches of our rules took place, we will review it.”
This is not the first of its kind incident. Back in 2007, Luton Town were docked 10 points after FA charged them for breaches related to agent payments.
And in 2017, Leeds United owner for handed a one-year ban and fine for breaching agent rules.
Both Tottenham and Portsmouth have refused to comment on this for now but this is a developing story.
TBH Says:
What does this mean for Spurs and how it implicates them remains to be seen but this does look serious. This was the last thing they needed after the fresh start under Ange.
