Jermain Defoe’s transfer from Tottenham to Portsmouth is under investigation by the FA for a breach of agent rules. The fiasco leaves the parties involved vulnerable to a range of possible punishments, including a hefty points deduction, but what else do we know about exactly what Spurs could be facing?
Pompey forked out £7.5million – a significant fee at the time – to lure Defoe from Tottenham back in 2008. The striker is believed to have agreed a huge boost in wages from his stint in north London, although he returned to White Hart Lane after only one season on the south coast.
Tottenham, club chairman Daniel Levy, Portsmouth and their former manager, Harry Redknapp, are all said to have dealt with an unlicensed agent during transfer negotiations.
The individual in question, Mitchell Thomas, has previously been named by the FA in a list of agents who had been operating in football without a license to, and The Times allege that he was a ‘central figure’ in Defoe’s move to Pompey.
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An arbitration panel which included Cherie Booth QC, wife of former prime minister Tony Blair, heard that Levy allegedly used Stuart Peters to assist with the deal. Unlike Thomas, Peters was a licensed agent at the time, but the FA are yet to see evidence of a representation contract, which forms a key part of their regulations.
The FA took no action at the time, but the matter is now ‘under review’. Tottenham have refused to comment, while Portsmouth point out that the transfer came under a long-gone ownership regime.
Reports indicate that the matter is being treated ‘seriously’ by the FA, and ‘huge sanctions’ could be imposed on the parties involved. A transfer ban, a points deduction or relegation are all theoretically on the table.
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Meanwhile, the agents and players involved face a possible warning, fine or football ban. The Premier League imposed the biggest sporting punishment in the division’s history only this month, slapping Everton with a 10-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
Along the same lines as the Defoe saga, Luton Town were docked 10 points and fined £50,000, also in 2008, for paying a number of agents without representation contracts in place.
Penalties have also been dished out to boardroom figures. Former Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino was hit with a 12-month football ban and a huge fine in 2017 for using an unlicensed agent as part of Ross McCormack’s move from Elland Road to Fulham three years prior.
Redknapp, who was in charge of Portsmouth when the club signed Defoe, said of the player’s move: “I remember that transfer well because it’s a story I tell as an after-dinner speaker. Jermain’s mum came down with him that day and she asked about a goal bonus. I looked at her and said, ‘It’s goals we’re paying him for.’ I had very little to do with the deal but, as far as I know, Mitchell Thomas was his agent.”
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