Kieran Maguire: Tottenham could land devastating ‘competition ban’ as Defoe case ‘becomes warmer’
Tottenham could be barred from competing in certain competitions if the FA find them guilty of agent-related breaches.
That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who exclusively told Football Insider that the FA is free to re-open Tottenham’s case given there is no statute of limitations.
An investigation by The Times has found that Jermain Defoe’s move from Tottenham to Portsmouth in 2008 involved an unlicensed agent.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp and Defoe were all involved in negotiations with agent Mitchell Thomas, who was named by the FA in 2008 on a list of agents who had been operating in football without a licence.
The new evidence could be presented to the FA, who have stated they are willing to re-open the case.
In the same year as Tottenham’s case, Luton Town were handed a points deduction for an agent-related breach.
Maguire believes a points deduction or even a competition ban could be handed to the North London club if found guilty.
“Manchester City’s case goes back to 2009 and the Premier League seem to have no issue with the statute of limitations that exist,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“So I see no reason why they can’t re-open Tottenham’s case.
“In respect of that, the Football Association made a decision based on the evidence that was presented in 2007/08.
“If further evidence has come to light, then it’s effectively a cold case which has become warmer.
“The FA has no statute of limitations, so I cannot see what will stop them from investigating.
“So we’ll have to wait to see what happens, but we’ve seen other clubs be handed some quite significant penalties for player-related issues.
“Being barred from competitions would be one possible route.
“Luton were also handed a points deduction for agent-related issues that year.“
In other news, Tottenham ready to accelerate move to land ‘Ange’s dream signing’