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SAINTS have released a statement revealing that assistant manager Eric Black is part of the Daily Telegraph’s ongoing investigations into corruption in football.
The club say they will work closely with The FA and Premier League with any investigation into the matter regarding Black, who is featuring in the Telegraph’s latest reports of their ‘Football For Sale’ undercover sting that saw Sam Allardyce lose his job as England manager.
Allardyce was filmed advising people purporting to be businessmen how to circumvent the FA’s rules on third-party ownership.
The statement regarding Black reads: "Southampton Football Club has today been made aware by The Daily Telegraph that, as part of their on-going investigation, the club’s Assistant First Team Manager Eric Black will feature as part of an article in tomorrow’s (Friday) paper.
"The club immediately requested to be sent, by The Daily Telegraph, the details of this article, but the newspaper declined to share any further information.
"We have today contacted The FA and The Premier League, and intend to work closely with both bodies on this matter when the facts become clear.
“Southampton Football Club is fully committed to investigating any situation that directly or indirectly relates to our club, employees or the wider community.”
Black, 52, joined Saints this summer as assistant manager to Claude Puel. He made his name with Aberdeen in the early 1980s, scoring for Alex Ferguson’s side as they beat Real Madrid to win the 1983 European Cup Winners Cup.
Black was filmed by the Telegraph at the Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest earlier this month allegedly advising ‘businessmen’ how to bribe lower league staff to get players for a ficticious agency.
Black was accompanied by agent Scott McGarvey, a former Manchester United striker who Black has known since his teenage days in Scotland.
A spokesman for Black told The Telegraph: “[Mr Black] does not recall Mr McGarvey making suggestions that football officials should be paid during transfer negotiations – this was not the purpose of the meeting so far as our client understood it."
Black could now face an uncertain future at St Mary’s - particularly as earlier today the Saints chairman revealed his dismay at the current allegations of corruption in English football revealed by The Telegraph.
Ralph Krueger told ESPN that this week’s reports alleging a culture of illicit payments between agents and managers had “shocked” and “upset” the Saints board.
Krueger said Saints’ recent success has been built on “honest and open” values and he now hoped that the rest of football would follow suit.
“We’ve been a club that’s been driving, wanting to get control of the evolving agent world around us and we believe we’re going to have ears now,” said Krueger.
"We’re going to use this, for sure, as a club, to fight for change and to fight for more regulation.
“We are all for regulation, and we are one of the most disciplined clubs in English football in terms of the way we deal with agents and youth academy players.”
The 52-year-old Scot, who has worked at Birmingham City, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and most recently Aston Villa, may now face an uncertain future at St Mary’s.
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