Allardyce facing FA investigation after sting operation

Two months after taking up the England football team head coach's job, Sam Allardyce is facing an investigation by the English Football Association following a newspaper sting in which he was secretly taped negotiating a 400,000 pounds (around $518,420) deal with reporters posing as Far East businessmen.

In the footage, filmed by an undercover Daily Telegraph investigation team, Allardyce said it is "not a problem" to bypass the rules introduced by the FA in 2008.

The FA has made no comment so far but has asked the newspaper for the full transcripts of the secretly taped recordings and is awaiting a response. FA officials are reportedly due to assess the allegations at a meeting at Wembley later in the day according to the Guardian's report.

Allardyce was also caught on tape making several remarks that will go down badly with his employers, mocking his predecessor Roy Hodgson by referring to him as "Woy", labelling the FA's rebuilding of Wembley as "stupid" and describing Gary Neville, Hodgson's assistant, as "the wrong influence".

Some commentators are already saying it is difficult to see Allardyce surviving in his new post.

Certainly, many will question the wisdom of the FA in appointing someone who was previously accused of accepting bribes in secret filming conducted by investigators from the BBC's Panorama programme and who already appears to be wanting to cash in on his extremely well paid 3 million pounds ($3.8 million) per annum position.

--IANS

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