Friday, 3 June 2011

Taylor Turned Down FIFA Gravy Train

Graham Taylor

In the wake of the recent FIFA elections the former England manager, Graham Taylor, has said that he was encouraged by FIFA officials to make false expenses claims, writing in his weekly column with The Daily Express.

Taylor, who managed the England team from 1990 to 1993, has claimed that during his time on FIFA's technical committee he was prompted to charge expenses to FIFA for costs the Football Association were already covering.

His comments come the day after the FA was badly defeated at the 61st FIFA Congress for trying to stop Sepp Blatter's re-election as president after a week long series of corruption allegations.

In his column Taylor wrote ''For my first (technical committee) meeting I flew to Zurich and the cost of my flight was met by the FA.

''We had a meeting in the morning and in the afternoon and in between we had a five-star lunch. Prior to the five-star dinner the evening before flying home we were paid our expenses that amounted to about £100 per day.

''We formed a queue to claim our money and I was asked by a colleague on the committee what I was claiming for.

'My 750 Swiss francs', I said, to which the reply was a laughing query: 'What about your flights? Your taxis? And anything else you can get away with?` Then I was further informed that everybody did this - whether their own association had paid for their flights or not.

''The next step, apparently, was to open a bank account in Switzerland and put all of the money claimed in it. I was informed that over the years I would have a more than tidy sum of money in my Swiss account.

''I was about eight months into my England job and I was petrified that, should the FA - or even the England press - find out, my life would not be worth living. I just claimed my 750 francs.''


No comments: