QPR: Serious cause for concern?

by Theo Fan

As Queens Park Rangers look destined to enjoy the glory of Premier League football next season a serious case of rule breaking, dodgy dealing and high profile characters rumbles on in the background that threatens to rain on the Super Hoops’ parade. Central to the case is 24 year old Argentinian midfielder Alejandro Faurlín and, more importantly, the circumstances surrounding the player’s arrival at the club in 2009. The club and its chairman Gianni Paladini face 7 FA charges which they will be called to answer during a four day hearing which is expected to conclude on Friday 6th May and many speculate is likely to see the West London club served with a hefty punishment which could include a fine, docked points or a combination of the two.

The Facts

In order to understand the full extent of this case it’s important to take into account all the facts. Prior to the conclusion of the FA hearing QPR “secured” automatic promotion with a 2 – 0 win against Watford on the 30th April which made them the 2010/11 Champions of the Npower Championship. The player in question, Alejandro Faurlín, signed for Rangers in July 2009 from Second Division Argentine side Insituto de Cordoba in a deal still reported on the QPR website to be worth £3.5 million.

Faurlín also crucially signed an extension to his contract in October 2010. Having played an integral role in this season’s squad with 40 league appearances and four goals he has proved an important player in the Hoops’ promotion campaign.

Problematically for QPR and their chairman, Faurlín’s former club Instituto de Cordoba claim to have never received a penny of the reported £3.5 million fee for the young midfielder with the money allegedly being paid instead to a third party owner, something the FA’s rules and regulations governing player transfers strictly prohibit.

As a result of these dealings the club and Gianni Paladini now face 7 serious FA charges (5 against QPR and 2 against Paladini) including; Entering into agreements with a third party, submitting falsified documents to the FA, using an unauthorised agent, concealing details regarding player transfers and bringing the sport into disrepute.

Warning Signs

Despite such a serious list of charges being levelled at QPR the club are remaining relatively hushed on the matter by refusing to divulge details surrounding the case. However, the warning signs that indicate the severity of the situation are easy to spot. Aside from the clubs reluctance to comment in any real depth there are the recent reports that Formula 1 tycoon and majority shareholder Bernie Ecclestone is prepared to sell his stake in the club. The timing of such an announcement may be little more than unfortunate but it could just as easily be a sign that the shrewd billionaire businessman is keen to distance himself from any potential turmoil the club may be about to endure.

The club has also chosen to “lawyer-up” with one of the highest calibre barristers in sport by enlisting the services of Ian Mill QC. With an impressive client list including Chelsea FC, the BBC, the ICC, and Mike Tyson an indication of his high profile status Ian Mill is the lawyer of choice in big name cases.

His recent case involving match fixing at the very highest levels of snooker saw him representing former world number one John Higgins and perhaps most importantly he was responsible for West Ham United being punished to the tune of a reported £25.5 million in compensation payouts and fines during the precedent setting Carlos Tevez/third party ownership case. Mr Mill’s inclusion in the saga highlights just how serious the club are taking the allegations against them.

Precedence

In a recent BBC radio 4 interview former FA chief executive Mark Palios indicated that he believed a points deduction was inevitable as there are lots of precedents surrounding all aspects of this case. Taking a look into recent similar cases shows a worrying trend for QPR fans of the sport’s governing bodies swiftly dealing out punishments at all levels.

With regards to third party ownerships matters the case that is the most high profile in recent years and was used to provide clarification on the rather vague rules surrounding the issue was the Carlos Tevez affair than ran for nearly two years between 2006 and 2008. The details of the case were numerous and intricate but the final ruling on the matter saw West Ham United fined a Premier League record sum of £5.5 million and led to the outlawing of players owned by third party organisations or individuals playing in English football from the beginning of the 2008/09 season.

Another case that has worrying parallels to QPR’s is the circumstances that led to League two outfit Luton Town being docked 10 points. The details surrounding this particular case amounted to a flagrant disregard towards the procedures and regulations governing player transfers at board level, serious allegations regarding bribes and unauthorised involvement of unlicensed individuals and allegations of poor clerical management and falsification of documents.

In Rangers’ case the falsification of documents is alleged to have taken place during Faurlín’s contract extension in October 2010 and the unauthorised agent is the well known Italian agent Peppino Tirri who holds a legitimate FIFA agent’s licence but does not hold the necessary accreditation to act as an agent in English football.

All of the above instances paint a pretty dire picture for Queens Park Rangers fans who have seen their side take an impressive lead at the top of the Championship table and maintain it this season and are now faced with the uncertainty of their club’s fate. Reassuringly for the club however there are some positive examples they are likely to cite in their defence.

Positives

Current Premier League title holders Chelsea have had recent flirtations with the murky waters of third party owned players. Their deal to sign Brazilian midfielder Ramires from Benfica in 2010 underwent severe FA scrutiny but was eventually allowed to proceed despite strong rumours suggesting that £6 million of the total £17 million fee paid made its way to an Iranian businessman with a chequered history regarding third party ownership deals, rather than Benfica receiving the full amount as stipulated by their strict rules.

Also encouragingly for Rangers, according to FA regulations, all funds used for the purchase of overseas players must go through the FA itself who act as a “clearing-house” to ensure the funds go where they are supposed to. This procedure was followed at the time Faurlín was signed by the club and so the FA has had full knowledge of the amount paid for the player and where that amount was paid to since way back in July 2009.

The club are also expected to claim that recent press coverage of the saga has already affected their chances of successfully defending their case and has tarnished the club’s image before their legal battle has even commenced.

Whichever way the case goes perhaps the most important question currently being asked is why have the FA chose to act now? With the alleged offences taking place in July 2009 and October 2010 respectively it seems strange that the governing bodies should wait until the final week of the season to conduct their hearing. Naturally many are concluding that the reason for this peculiar timing is so that the FA can make a high profile example of the club in the hope of deterring any further occurrence of issues such as are thought to have taken place.

With thousands of QPR fans, including their talismanic captain Adel Taarabt, claiming the timing of this hearing and any resulting punishment are unfair on the players who have battled hard all season to earn their promotion only time will tell what fate awaits the West London club and that time is likely to feel as long as the season itself for many.

Theo Fan is a contributor to Just Football and can be found on Twitter @TheFootball_Fan

English Championship, Football and Finance, Football League, Queens Park Rangers