"Bungs" investigation is almost complete

THE Premier League has confirmed that their three year probe into "transfer bungs" is likely to be concluded next month.

But spokesman Mike Lee refused to comment on a Sunday newspaper report that the League's inquiry team will publish findings which show that a £50,000 payment made by Tottenham when signing England striker Teddy Sheringham was a "bung".

Sheringham joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest for a £2.1 million fee in the summer of 1992 when ex England coach Terry Venables was the north London club's chief executive and Brian Clough was Forest's manager.

The Premier League's three man commission headed by chief executive Rick Parry and comprising Crystal Palace manager Steve Coppell and Robert Reid QC, has already produced evidence which resulted in George Graham, the Leeds manager who was then in charge of Arsenal, being given a year's ban by the Football Association in June 1995.

Graham was found guilty of accepting illegal payments from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge in two transfer deals when signing Scandinavian players, John Jensen and Pal Lydersen for Arsenal, but the Premier League's bung busters have yet to reveal any further evidence of illicit transfer activity in the game.

There has been widespread speculation, however, that dealings in Sheringham's move from Forest to Spurs featured strongly in their investigations, although Lee said yesterday: "The inquiry has not yet completed its work and it would be inappropriate to comment until it has done so."

But Parry has already promised that the so called "bungbusters" team will make another announcement before the end of the season.

And it now seems clear they will publish their final report soon in April when Parry joins Liverpool as chief executive and hands over his job with the League to former Spurs director Peter Leaver QC.

The Premier League have no powers of punishment even if they can show irrefutable evidence of transfer dealings which infringe FA rules. Only the FA can decide if there are grounds for charges to be made just as they did in the Graham case.