In 2006, several allegations were made of corruption in English football by sources inside and outside of the game.

In January 2006, Luton Town manager Mike Newell and then-manager of Queens Park Rangers Ian Holloway alleged that backhanders (bribes) were rife in the sport ^{[1] [2] [3]} The Football Association subsequently held talks with the two managers and established an enquiry.

On 19 September, 2006 the BBC current affairs television programme Panorama broadcast a special investigation into corruption in English football which had begun filming in August 2005.

"Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets" included footage shown of meetings between agents, managers and high ranking football club officials, filmed undercover by Knut auf dem Berge, a freelance coach posing as a prospective football agent. This footage purported to show agents and managers accepting backhanders and illegally "tapping-up" players under contract to other clubs.

These allegations included:

• That Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce, and his agent son Craig were alleged to have accepted "bungs" (bribes) from agents for signing certain players. Two agents, Teni Yerima and Peter Harrison, were secretly filmed, each separately claiming that they had paid Allardyce through his son. Allardyce denies ever taking, or asking for, a bung.^[4] The programme was aired on the same night that Bolton beat Walsall 3-1 in the Carling Cup, so Allardyce missed the original showing

• Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp is secretly filmed discussing the possibility of buying the Blackburn Rovers captain Andy Todd with agent Peter Harrison, which is illegal under FA rules.

• Then Portsmouth first-team coach Kevin Bond, now first team coach of Newcastle United, is secretly recorded admitting he would consider discussing receiving payments from a proposed new agency involving agent Peter Harrison.

• Chelsea director of youth football Frank Arnesen is secretly filmed making an illegal approach or "tapping up" Middlesbrough's England youth star 15-year-old Nathan Porritt. Arnesen offers a fee of £150,000 spread over three years as an incentive to move. Both of these allegations are illegal under FA rules.

• Agent Peter Harrison told the undercover reporter that, to secure transfer deals with Bolton, he bribed Sam Allardyce by offering to pay his son Craig. Harrison is a FIFA-listed agent, who is based in the north-east of England.

• That three different Bolton transfer signings involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce, some when he was contractually banned from doing any Bolton deals. Panorama alleged Bolton's transfer signings of defender Tal Ben Haim, midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata and goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi involved secret payments from agents to Craig Allardyce. Allardyce's son quit the agency business in summer 2006, and has admitted in newspaper interviews that his working as an agent might have cost his father the chance of becoming England manager.

• Agent Charles Collymore, is secretly filmed in the Panorama film, saying: "There's managers out there who take bungs all day long. I would say to you comfortably there's six to eight managers we could definitely approach and they'd be up for this no problem." Later, Collymore is named publicly for the first time by Luton Town manager Mike Newell as the agent who offered him an illegal payment. Collymore also represents England cricketer Simon Jones.

On 3 March, 2006, The Football Association established an enquiry to be headed by Lord Stevens, former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and former head of an enquiry into corruption in cricket ^[5]. The findings of Stevens' report are due to be announced in October 2006.

On 20 September, The Football Association asked the BBC to provide all of the collected evidence and announced that it would investigate these allegations. It was to investigate allegations of illegal approaches involving Chelsea sporting director Frank Arnesen, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, along with allegations "relating to players' agents and connected activities" involving Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce, son Craig Allardyce, Newcastle United assistant manager Kevin Bond, and agents Charles Collymore and Peter Harrison ^[6].

All of those accused of impropriety have denied all allegations arising from the programme, including:

• Sam Allardyce: placed the matter in the hands of his lawyers: ""Obviously I'm denying all allegations that have been alleged against me. The matter's in the lawyers' hands and will be resolved by due process. I have instructed my lawyers to take the appropriate action." ^[7] And he confessed: “As a father it is painful to watch your son talk tall and exaggerate his influence for financial gain.” ^[8]

• Kevin Bond: intends to sue the BBC for libel ^[9]. Newcastle United placed him on gardening leave following the broadcast, and terminated his contract on 26 September. In response, Bond issued a statement claiming that Newcastle had sacked him without investigating properly ^{[10] [11]}.