The Football Association is investigating a recording which appears to show England manager Sam Allardyce advising businessmen how to get around rules on transferring players.
In an undercover operation by The Daily Telegraph - said to have been recorded in August - Allardyce meets a group of people claiming to represent a firm in the Far East.
Allardyce, who is paid £3 million a year plus bonuses by the FA, is then said to have used his role to negotiate a £400,000 deal.
The FA has asked to see the newspaper’s recordings and Allardyce, who has only been in charge for one game having taken over the role in July, is yet to comment.
According to the BBC, the FA will meet today over the incident. New chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn must decide whether the issue is one of poor judgement or something more serious.
Allardyce reportedly agreed to travel to Singapore and Hong Kong as an ambassador.
The newspaper reports that the football manager told the undercover journalists how to get around FA rules which prohibit third parties “owning” players.
The 61-year-old allegedly told the so-called businessmen that bypassing the rules, which were introduced by the FA in 2008, was “not a problem”.
In one of the meetings, it has been claimed, Allardyce said he knew of agents who were “doing it all the time”, adding: “You can still get around it. I mean obviously the big money’s here.”
Third-party ownership of a football player was described as a form of “slavery” by former Uefa president, Michel Platini. It effectively allows companies to own a stake in a footballer.
Fifa banned the practice last year.
The paper also reported that Allardyce criticised his predecessor Roy Hodgson, referring to him as “Woy” and saying he “hasn’t got the personality” for public speaking.
Allardyce is also said to have said the England players had a “psychological barrier” and could not “cope”.
Allardyce attended the meeting with the undercover reporters in London along with his agent, Mark Curtis, and his financial adviser, Shane Moloney.
Curtis and Moloney have not yet responded to the allegations.