Tommy Wright found guilty

[EastStandRed]

Football coach Tommy Wright has been convicted of taking a £5,000 bribe to leak commercial information about players.

The former assistant head coach at Barnsley Football Club was handed an envelope of cash during an undercover investigation by Daily Telegraph reporter Claire Newell in 2016.

The 53-year-old, from Barnsley, denied wrongdoing but was convicted of two charges of accepting a bribe.

Two football agents - Giuseppe "Pino" Pagliara and Dax Price - were both convicted of paying and facilitating a bribe.

The men, 64 and 48 respectively, broke football rules by acting as "third party" owners of players in an attempt to profit when they were sold to other clubs.

Third party ownership arrangements were banned by the Football Association and FIFA in 2015.

After accepting the bribe, Wright is understood to have leaked commercial information about Barnsley players.

Southwark Crown Court heard that some of the players were encouraged to sign up with Pagliara and Price.

Prosecutor Brian O'Neill said the two agents "explicitly discussed the payment of future sums to Mr Wright".

Wright did not deny accepting the £5,000, paid tax on it and declared it to HMRC.

His lawyer, Lewis Power QC, said his motivation for getting involved with Pagliara and Price was to turn Barnsley into a better club.

A friend of Price, James Hennessy, compared him to Del Boy from Only Fools And Horses, saying: "Dax is never far away from being a millionaire - he was always the next big deal and he always falls flat on his face."

He said Price was "stupid and naive" and had "absolutely no business sense whatsoever".

In undercover footage, Pagliara told Ms Newell that football was not for "morally correct people", as she posed as a businesswoman from a wealthy firm looking to invest in the English game.

Pagliara added: "I go the official way and I go the unofficial way... 99% of the industry is made up of people that, if they weren't in football, would be selling second-hand cars."

He claimed that talk of corruption was "grandstanding" to impress Ms Newell.

A date for sentencing is still to be set.

[anstonred]

He acted shamefully, not just criminally!

[SBRed48]

Thullevto evva Legal Aid Pop In Centre darn at Oakwell wi amarnta Cooart feyting gooin on. Summat's not reyt.

Wi dint ev all this carry on when Spinksy wo theear. Aar wi gerrin on wi that FC Wacker suing Hoss ovva the Manuel Miranda carry on when he failed to register him evvin agreed to buy him?

[alfinyalcabo]

Was Acido involved in this little bit of bribing? Not seen much of him lately..

[Ponte_Steve24]

Was Acido involved in this little bit of bribing? Not seen much of him lately..

Thought you said rimming. Too early for me

[SBRed48]

Was Acido involved in this little bit of bribing? Not seen much of him lately..

Acido is serving time in Armley Prison forra few weeks.

Bobbies finally caught him red handed doing "things" in a Normanton ginnel at 1-30am last September. As Under 16's may read this the details will evvto remain confidential. All I can say is that an animal was involved against it's will.

[pass_and_move]

Acido is serving time in Armley Prison forra few weeks.

Bobbies finally caught him red handed doing "things" in a Normanton ginnel at 1-30am last September. As Under 16's may read this the details will evvto remain confidential. All I can say is that an animal was involved against it's will.

He wo dogging I heard

[SBRed48]

He wo dogging I heard

Sky Spooarts understands there was an incident with a donkey and a virgin believed to have the street name of "Mary" roaming the Normanton streets looking fo sumweear to sup but Acido turned them away from his local.

(West Yorkshire Police ev cast doubt on this story as they have no knowledge of any virgins in the Normanton area)

[EastStandRed]

A former Assistant Head Coach of Barnsley FC and two corrupt football agents have today been found guilty of bribery after a journalistic expose into corruption in English football.

An undercover journalist from The Daily Telegraph investigating allegations of bribery and corruption pretended to be a representative from a fictitious sports management company and met with established football agents Giuseppe Pagliara, 63, and Dax Price, 48.

From the outset, Price and Pagliara openly discussed corruption in football and their role in it, making it clear they had no issue with going against the strict Football Association regulations.

The agents suggested various schemes including bribing players to become their agents, and ways for the sports management company to go against the ban on third party ownership for profit.

The pair introduced the journalist to former Barnsley Football Club Assistant Head Coach Tommy Wright, 53, encouraging the reporter to pay Wright for his part in their illegal schemes.

Wright received an initial bribe of £5,000 in return for revealing sensitive information about Barnsley FC’s players and encouraged some of the players to appoint Price and Pagliara as their agents.

Jessica Walker of the CPS said: “These men understood the strict regulations that are in place to prevent corruption in football, yet still used bribery to influence what should be a fair process.”

Building the case

Fundamental to the prosecution case was the wealth of evidence that The Daily Telegraph had collected over the numerous meetings the journalist had with Wright, Pagliara and Price.

The audio recordings of these meetings and notes were able to show that Pagliara and Price were not just complicit with the corruption suspected in football, but actively attempting to get around the Football Association’s regulations prohibiting third-party ownership.

In one meeting, Price assured the journalist that he knew the people in English clubs who needed ‘looking after.’

Although Wright protested he had thought the money was a legitimate payment for his consultancy, it was clear from the recorded conversations and the information Wright provided to Pagliara and Price, that he was aware what he was doing was illicit.

Jessica Walker continued: “Despite the trio’s protestations of innocence, we were able to show that they knew their actions were breaking the law. It is thanks to the evidence gathered by The Daily Telegraph and the City of London police through their investigation that we could show beyond doubt these men were guilty of bribery.”

In September 2016 The Telegraph published the evidence they had uncovered and a criminal investigation was launched.

Following a nine-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Wright has been found guilty of two counts of accepting or soliciting a bribe and Pagliara and Price have been found guilty of two counts of paying and facilitating a bribe.

Notes to editors

Jessica Walker is a Unit Head in the Specialist Fraud Division at the CPS
Tommy Wright (10/01/1966) was found guilty of two counts of requesting, agreeing to receive or accepting a financial advantage or o ther advantage, contrary to section 2 of the Bribery Act 2010
Dax Price (18/02/1971) was found guilty of two counts of offering, promising or giving a financial or other advantage to another person, contrary to section 1 of the Bribery Act 2010
Giuseppe Pagliara (05/09/1955) was found guilty of two counts of offering, promising or giving a financial or other advantage to another person, contrary to section 1 of the Bribery Act 2010.