FIFA have launched an investigation into Paul Pogba's transfer from Juventus to Manchester United. The governing body are currently holding the FIFA Council in Bahrain, and just prior to the announcement of the decisions they made today, AFP in France reported that the FIFA are investigating Pogba's world-record fee transfer from Turin last summer.
#BREAKING FIFA to investigate Paul Pogba's Manchester United transfer
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 9, 2017
It is unclear what aspect of the transfer is being investigated, although the BBC's Richard Conway reports that FIFA are seeking clarification regarding who was involved in the deal and what they were paid.
Believe Fifa seeking clarification on who was involved in the deal and the amounts they were paid.
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) May 9, 2017
This will be the second time FIFA investigate a Pogba transfer to Manchester United, as they looked into 2009 allegations that United had offered cash to Pogba's family in order to secure his signing from French club Le Havre.
United maintained their innocence, and the clubs settled the dispute in June 2010.
Conway was among a number of journalists and fans to speculate whether the leaking of the Pogba story was deliberately timed, so as to bury some other news.
One way to bury bad news ... 👀🍊 https://t.co/z25M75aZNK
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) May 9, 2017
FIFA today voted to remove their chief ethics investigator Cornel Borbely and ethics judge Hans-Joachim Eckert from the organisation, despite their desire to remain working with the organisation. They criticised the decision, saying that the "non-election will lead to delays in the current investigations and proceedings, and complicate the prosecution of violators of the Code of Ethics". They added that "the heads of FIFA have attached greater weight to their own political interests, than to the long-term interests of FIFA. They have accepted jeopardizing FIFA's integrity and, hence, the future of the game".
Breaking: Borbely and Eckert: "non-election will set the work of the Ethics Committee far back + de facto the end of FIFA’s reform efforts"
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) May 9, 2017
Fifa ethics chiefs slam decision to not reappoint them. "politically motivated" "end of Fifa reform efforts" "will further tarnish image"
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) May 9, 2017
Eckert has been involved since 2012, and have banned multiple officials, most notably Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini. He leaves at a time that FIFA are currently investigating his compatriot Franz Beckenbauer and other German officials in an alleged fraud case linked to the 2006 World Cup.
