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| Stevens to look into 17 transfers | Stevens to look into 17 transfers |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The Premier League has targeted 17 transfers that need more investigation following Lord Stevens' inquiry into illegal payments in football. | The Premier League has targeted 17 transfers that need more investigation following Lord Stevens' inquiry into illegal payments in football. |
| But Lord Stevens, who was investigating a total of 362 transfers, has not given details of the 17 questionable deals. | |
| Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said a "small but significant number of agents" had refused to co-operate with Lord Stevens' inquiry. | Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said a "small but significant number of agents" had refused to co-operate with Lord Stevens' inquiry. |
| Lord Stevens' team will now begin a new inquiry into the 17 deals in question. | |
| Live: Lord Stevens reveals his findings Five Live Factfile: Stevens' Bung Inquiry Interview: David Mellor | Live: Lord Stevens reveals his findings Five Live Factfile: Stevens' Bung Inquiry Interview: David Mellor |
| A total of 38 recommendations to help safeguard the integrity of the game have been made by Lord Stevens, who announced the findings of his nine-month inquiry at a news conference on Wednesday. | |
| These include the creation of a body to handle the audit of transfers rather than the Football Association. | |
| "The FA and the compliance unit does not have the credibility of the public or the clubs," said Lord Stevens. | |
| "The proposed regulation and compliance unit must be established with expertise and independence to take on this work. | |
| "Part of the FA's problems has been the lack of forensic investigators and accountants. The work must be preventative." | |
| Lord Stevens said every one of his recommendations had to be implemented. | |
| "Failure to so will result in the game remaining under attack and its remaining members subject to allegations and innuendo," he said. | |
| Lord Stevens also criticised the lack of assistance he had received from some agents during the course of his team's investigation. | |
| "Agents' failure to respond has resulted in delays to this inquiry," he added. | |
| "We will be providing the Premier League with a number of incidences where mandated processes have not been followed." | |
| Lord Stevens said punishment for clubs which do not comply with financial regualations must be sufficient. | |
| "Punishments must have a significant deterrent," he said. | |
| "Money alone may not be appropriate as a sanction alone. | |
| "Seasoned investigators and forensic accountants are required to trace the money flows. They must have that expertise available to it or they will fail. | |
| "They must have access to accounts with club and agent and must make books available to the audit." |