QPR halt Hasselbaink transfer probe awaiting evidence

London (AFP) – QPR chiefs insist they won’t proceed with an internal investigation into the conduct of manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink until the full evidence into transfer corruption is revealed.

The Daily Telegraph have been publishing information obtained during a 10-month probe which the newspaper claims lifts the lid on bribery and corruption in British football.

Secretly-filmed footage of Sam Allardyce making a variety of controversial comments cost him the England job this week, while QPR boss Hasselbaink is among other figures to have been filmed by undercover reporters as part of the investigation.

The Telegraph alleges the Dutchman requested a fee of £55,000 ($71,000, 63,000 euros) to work for a fake Far Eastern firm seeking to sell players to the club, with the former striker immediately denying any wrongdoing.

QPR pledged a “thorough internal investigation” on Wednesday, but on Friday said in a statement that they have yet to receive the required information from the newspaper in order to proceed.

“QPR can confirm that we are currently unable to proceed any further with the club’s internal investigation at this stage, as The Telegraph are yet to provide full and complete unconditional disclosure of all the information it has, despite a number of requests from both the club and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s legal team,” the statement read.

“We urge The Telegraph to provide full disclosure of all its information relating to the allegations, including video footage and a full transcript of the discussions that took place.

“The club believes this information should not be provided selectively, but unedited and unconditionally, in order for the club to view the full context and the sequence of what was said by all parties to include in its investigation.

“Once again, we appreciate the QPR fans want this issue dealt with as quickly as possible, which is why we request full co-operation from The Telegraph in providing us with the aforementioned footage and transcript.”

– It’s business –

In the video footage collected by the Telegraph, former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink appears to be seen asking his suitors to “come up with a nice figure” for a role, which the newspaper says he is told would involve a number of trips to meet with the firm in Singapore.

Hasselbaink says: “You said the word business. That’s all, it’s business, so it depends what you put down, you know… at the end of the day, it has to be worthwhile to go all that way.”

Meanwhile, the FA are also waiting for the Telegraph to hand over the full evidence as they continue to probe the allegations, which claimed another victim when Tommy Wright lost his job as Barnsley’s assistant head coach.

Wright was sacked after allegations made against him and the newspaper’s latest claims surround Southampton assistant manager Eric Black, who allegedly offered advice on how to bribe officials at other clubs.

Black was filmed apparently saying staff at other clubs could possibly be persuaded to give information about a player to a management company for money. He has denied the allegations.

The FA said it had yet to receive “full and unfettered disclosure of all available material from the Daily Telegraph” and wanted to investigate matters fully as soon as possible.

City of London Police confirmed that discussions had already taken place with the FA and the Telegraph.

The FA’s statement came just hours after Wright lost his job following the Telegraph’s report that he took a £5,000 payment from undercover reporters posing as representatives of fake investors from the Far East.

The 50-year-old Scot, who maintains his innocence, was initially suspended after the allegation came to light on Wednesday.