Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊

Brighton fined £90k for breaching agent regulations during transfer of Dale Stephens!



Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,529
Back in Sussex
There was a long thread on this subject on the board earlier today.

Having finished work for the day, I've skimmed through it and I have moved it out of concern that some people were making quite wild speculation, questioning the professional integrity of some people, as well as attempting to link club staff movements with this particular incident which, from what I understand, is completely unrelated.

By all means kick-on with the discussion but for your own well-being, please stick to facts and do not insinuate or attempt to smear any individual in connection with this.
 

tomfitz12

CTRL+W to change this
Nov 25, 2012
1,107
southwick
from what I saw no one was directly associating the incident today with the other person's incident- it merely seemed that people were questioning whether or not the two may be linked
 

smillie's garden

Am I evil?
Aug 11, 2003
2,579
There was a long thread on this subject on the board earlier today.

Having finished work for the day, I've skimmed through it and I have moved it out of concern that some people were making quite wild speculation, questioning the professional integrity of some people, as well as attempting to link club staff movements with this particular incident which, from what I understand, is completely unrelated.

By all means kick-on with the discussion but for your own well-being, please stick to facts and do not insinuate or attempt to smear any individual in connection with this.

Where did you move it to? Or by "move" do you mean delete?
 

Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,499
How does this "discussion" work when the FA have found we dodged £66k in agent commissions, it's made the national news but the fans aren't allowed to mention any names?

There are hundreds and hundreds of domestic transfers involving agents every year, so how come we've made the national news for what the club are describing as a mere oversight, an admin error? These three agent guys are out of action for months, this is dodgy stuff. Maybe Barber should come on here and give us his version, filling the information vacuum?
 


Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,647
Location Location
It would be helpful if we actually knew what the club has supposedly done wrong. The FA have accepted that BHAFC have not acted dishonestly, the club have said they were misled by two licensed agents, and yet we're clobbered with a £90k fine. That's a LOT of pies to claw back for FFP.

What exactly have the club been charged with ? Whats exactly is this "technicality" ?
 

chaileyjem

#BarberIn
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jun 27, 2012
13,750
More detail in the The Argus story this morning where Paul Barber says the club are very "angry" and that the FA "accepted that the club has not acted dishonestly in any way." via
http://www.theargus.co.uk/sport/11818339.Albion_insist_they_are_innocent_victims_after_FA_fine/

Albion insist they are innocent victims after being fined £90,000 for breaching FA regulations over the transfer of Dale Stephens.

The Seagulls have denied any dishonesty in the way the club and its officials acted during the deal to bring midfielder Stephens to the Amex from Charlton Athletic last January.

The FA accepted the club was misled by Stephens’ agents Matthew Kleinman and Alex Levack who used a third party, a solicitor called Ali Rahnama, to complete the deal but then pocketed the £75,750 commission themselves.

Levack and Kleinman have both been fined £7,500 and suspended from being agents for 14 months with the FA making it clear they were the “main protagonists” in the matter while Rahnama has been banned for nine months. The two agents have also returned £65,812 of their cut of the deal to Albion which effectively reduces the club’s fine to £24,188.

Albion chief executive Paul Barber said: “From a club point of view, we are very angry. We have never been in a situation like it before and we hope we will never be in it again.

“We were put in a difficult position as we filed the paperwork so it was our responsibility but we did it in good faith. We relied on people we had worked with before and trusted but on this occasion they let us down. We were misled by the agents who have consequently been punished very severely while the level of our fine shows that we are guilty of an administrative error rather than anything to do with deceit.


“The FA have accepted that the club has not acted dishonestly in any way. Obviously we are frustrated as it has cost us a sum of money but we think the fine is fair and support the FA’s desire to ensure that agents conduct themselves properly.”

Levack and Kleinman misled Albion as they wanted to receive commission for facilitating Stephens’ move from Charlton but incorrectly thought they were unable to officially represent either the player or the Seagulls in the deal. The pair believed their agreement with Stephens had expired, when it actually had nine days to run, and were not allowed to work on behalf of the club because they had represented Charlton in another deal during the transfer window.

The FA said in its investigation: “The club (Albion) has a long and distinguished history in football. We accept the evidence that the club was misled by Mr Kleinman however that does not excuse the failure to comply with the regulations.”

The Seagulls have since reinforced their internal procedures when dealing with agents and transfers.

Barber added: “We have conducted dozens if not hundreds of these kind of transactions and this was the only one that has gone wrong so it is not as if it is a problem we have come across before. It is the first time we have ever been in front of the FA for such a matter.

“We have now put another level of checks and balances in place to try to prevent something like it happening again.”
 


Blue Valkyrie

Not seen such Bravery!
Sep 1, 2012
32,165
Valhalla
Seems to be an 'honest mistake' by the albion, and we have now learnt lessons and tightened procedure.
 

drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
22,981
Burgess Hill
Perhaps this might explain some of the comments on here suggesting agents didn't like dealing with David Burke because the new internal procedures brought in may be more onerous on the agents?
 


jay d

jay d n coke
Nov 16, 2014
833
brighton
So does this mean its gonna take longer to sign players ?.
shame cos i liked how quickly we do business. :lolol:
 


Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,499
Credit to the Argus for running the story. Nothing on the club site about it at all.

If only the FA were as rigorous with the "Fit and Proper Person" test as they are with football agents then the game would be in a lot healthier state.
 
Dec 29, 2011
8,008
It would be helpful if we actually knew what the club has supposedly done wrong. The FA have accepted that BHAFC have not acted dishonestly, the club have said they were misled by two licensed agents, and yet we're clobbered with a £90k fine. That's a LOT of pies to claw back for FFP.

What exactly have the club been charged with ? Whats exactly is this "technicality" ?

The club did nothing underhand, they just didn't check who was on the books of the agents involved. The fine for the club is to deter other clubs from making the same mistake in the future and claiming they didn't know. The FA have set a precedent with us by giving us a fine.

I wonder if they could have deducted points if he had been playing?
Definitely not, it was an honest mistake by the club.
 

SAC

Well-known member
May 21, 2014
2,523
The FA have a history of deducting points for honest mistakes (unless you are West Ham).
 


Creaky

Well-known member
Mar 26, 2013
3,833
Hookwood - Nr Horley
The club did nothing underhand, they just didn't check who was on the books of the agents involved. The fine for the club is to deter other clubs from making the same mistake in the future and claiming they didn't know. The FA have set a precedent with us by giving us a fine.


Definitely not, it was an honest mistake by the club.


Not quite what the FA state.

In evidence before the Commission Mr Allan accepted that he knew Messrs Levack and Kleinman had negotiated the contract and they would gain financially from this transaction. We accept Mr Allan’s contrition which was evident before the Commission and that this represented an aberration in an otherwise exemplary career.
 

Albion and Premier League latest from Sky Sports

Paying the bills

Latest Discussions

Paying the bills

Paying the bills

Paying the bills


Top
Link Here