Rooney’s agent loses appeal against ban, fine
Wayne Rooney’s agent lost his appeal Monday of an 18-month ban and $586,000 fine imposed by English soccer authorities on how he came to represent the England striker.
Paul Stretford can still go before an arbitration panel to contest the independent disciplinary commission’s July verdict of improper conduct.
“We are entirely satisfied that the overall penalty was not excessive and was well within the range open to a reasonable regulatory commission considering matters of this seriousness,” the Football Association’s appeal board said in a statement.
Stretford will serve only half the suspension if he is found to not have broken further regulations. He became Rooney’s agent in September 2002, helping the striker transfer from Everton to Manchester United two years later.
The matter stems from evidence Stretford gave to a court in October 2004 in which three men were accused of blackmailing him in 2003. A judge threw out all charges against the men. Stretford was found to have made false statements to the court and was declared an unreliable witness.
Stretford said during the trial he signed Rooney in December 2002. However, documents showed he’d signed him three months earlier when the player was still under contract to his original agent, Peter McIntosh.
The FA also found that Stretford had signed Rooney to an eight-year contract, exceeding the maximum limit of two years.
