Politicians, campaigners and former soccer players have protested the financial grooming of Premier League stars who claim they were persuaded to put their money into failed investment schemes that led to them being accused of tax avoidance and faced with enormous penalties from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
The launch of the Investment Fraud Committee on Monday night, an all-party parliamentary group, featured harrowing testimony from several victims over the course of three hours and opened with a heavy focus on issues that are understood to have affected hundreds of former soccer players.
Many former players whose careers peaked in the 1990s have become unwell and struggled with their mental health because of their financial problems, sources said.
Photo: AFP
Former Manchester United and England striker Andy Cole, former Leeds United striker Brian Deane, former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Michael Thomas, and former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy were among those who attended the meeting.
Murphy, who has become a leading pundit for the BBC and TalkSport since his retirement, was hit with a ￡2.5 million (US$3.34 million) tax bill after investing in a film scheme that promised tax breaks to investors. The former England international lost a court case in 2019 more than ￡1 million he borrowed from the private bank Coutts to invest in the scheme.
The campaigners said it was wrong that soccer players who invested in failed film schemes later received huge tax bills, penalties and demands for interest payments from HMRC.
“I couldn’t think of a more brilliant place than a football club to find victims,” Murphy said.
Young professionals often turned to older teammates and managers for advice on how to manage their money and were then introduced to financial advisers who quickly sought to gain their trust, he said, adding that it was grooming.
Murphy, who said there was no intention to avoid tax, talked about how people would insert themselves in players’ lives before getting them to agree to investments later down the line.
“Our option [for investment] was these people,” he said. “It’s not footballers, it’s young men being manipulated. People can’t understand why you got into this position. It makes you feel silly — it adds to the shame. People have been through hell and back. Some are still there.”
Murphy talked about former players experiencing depression, anxiety, financial ruin and family breakups, adding that the HMRC does not have the desire or competence to target the perpetrators of investment fraud.
Some people had been pushed to the brink of suicide, Deane said.
“I watched it break friends’ marriages,” he said. “It affects your health and well-being.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS