Tournament News
England team secretly bugged
2010-03-09 18:38
Email | Print
London - Lawyers for the Football Association are trying to ensure that secretly taped conversations between England players and coach Fabio Capello remain confidential.
The FA believes the secret recordings were made at the team hotel last week before the friendly against Egypt. An unidentified individual reportedly tried to sell them to newspapers.
The FA's lawyers have contacted media organizations and warned that publication of the contents of the recordings would be illegal and a breach of the Data Protection Act and Press Complaints Commission rules.
England team venues will now likely have to be swept for listening devices, which Manchester United does on a regular basis after its dressing rooms were discovered to have been bugged four years ago.
"Preparation involves discretion and secrecy," United manager Alex Ferguson said Tuesday. "Capello may have been discussing important issues about the team then all of a sudden someone else has got them. So it's a concern."
The incident is another distraction for Capello as he prepares the team for its World Cup opener against the United States in South Africa on June 12.
Capello's plans have been rocked by off-field issues and injuries in the last month.
The Italian stripped John Terry of the team captaincy following allegations the defender had an affair with teammate Wayne Bridge's girlfriend.
Just as left back Bridge announced he was quitting the team as a result, Ashley Cole - first-choice in that position - broke his left ankle.