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BBC faces pressure to hand over all bung evidence to FA inquiry

Martin Ziegler
Friday 22 September 2006 00:00 BST
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The Football Association and the Premier League will press the BBC today to provide to their inquiries with all the evidence collected by Panorama's year-long investigation into the game.

There is growing concern within the football bodies that the corporation will be selective in the evidence it provides to back up claims of illegal payments and illegal approaches by figures within the game. It is understood that a senior FA official will contact BBC executives today to ask that all evidence be provided.

The Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp hit out at the programme yesterday, saying: "I don't know why I was on it... Anyone who saw the programme will be wondering why I was on it. It was farcical. I don't think there is anything in it that I need to worry my lawyer about."

Karl Oyston, the chairman of the League One club Blackpool and an FA councillor, told the Blackpool Gazette: "I have been offered cash as a bribe to bring a player to the club and it's happened more than once. In one instance, someone wanted me to take a player on a higher salary than we would normally pay, so he offered me a certain amount of cash as a gift to get me to do it. I said no.

"Since 1999 when I became chairman here, my managers have been offered bungs. We've missed out on a lot of footballers because of it."

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