Another English Football Manager Accused Of Corruption Was Fired
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The spreading corruption and bribery scandal in English football has claimed another scalp.
Championship club Barnsley announced earlier today that assistant manager Tommy Wright had been let go. This comes after The Telegraph published video of the Scotsman agreeing to steer his players toward a third-party ownership scheme in exchange for a bribe.
If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it’s part of the same undercover investigation that ultimately brought an end to Sam Allardyce’s reign as England manager after 67 days.
Like Allardyce, Wright met with a group of men who he believed represented an East Asian investment firm looking to make money in English football. During the meeting, he told these “investors” (who were, in fact, Telegraph reporters) that he would facilitate deals between Barnsley players and the consortium as well as push for the club to sign the group’s players at other clubs. In return, he reportedly received £5,000 in cash.
As soon as the allegations were made public, Barnsley suspended Wright and launched an internal investigation. But while there the investigation is nowhere near complete, the club are apparently confident enough in the veracity of the paper’s claims and terminated Wright’s contract.
Per the club’s official statement :
”A meeting between the club and Mr. Wright was held this morning attended by club chief executive Linton Brown. After considering Mr. Wright’s response to allegations in today’s Daily Telegraph about breaching FA rules over player transfers, Mr. Wright was dismissed. The club was unaware of such matters nor was it involved in any wrongdoing. The club will continue to fully investigate the issues at hand and will cooperate with the regulatory authorities as necessary.”
Wright has denied any wrongdoing.