FAT SAM STANDS TALL

The Independent reports on the bung allegations presented in Panarama on Tuesday night.

Sam Allardyce, the Bolton Wanderers manager, came out fighting yesterday against the allegations of corruption made against him in Tuesday's BBC Panorama investigation and - having admitted that his son, Craig, lied on the programme - indicated that he is ready for a legal battle to clear his name.

The day after the broadcast of the BBC programme"Undercover: Football's Dirty Secrets" saw the Premier League and the Football Association launch a joint investigation into the allegations that Allardyce accepted " bung" payments in transfers. But the Bolton manager said that he was " very angry at the lies told about me".

In his rebuttal Allardyce deals with the issue of his own son, Craig, a former agent, who is alleged to have taken secret payments in Bolton transfer deals, and was filmed bragging of his influence with his father. It was with a touch of emotion, but with absolutely no doubt where the blame lies, that Allardyce accused his son of lying in order, he said, to impress the BBC investigators posing as potential investors.

"As a father, of course, it is painful to watch your son talk tall and exaggerate his influence for financial gain," Allardyce said in a statement. "If there is any real evidence - and there won't be, as I am utterly innocent of any wrongdoing - I would expect the BBC to give that evidence both to the FA and the [Premier League's] Quest inquiry."

Within English football yesterday it appeared that the gloomy mood about Allardyce's future had dissipated and Panorama's failure to prove its allegations beyond any doubt suggested, according to many insiders, that his career would survive. In what looks set to be a legal battle with the BBC, the Bolton manager seems already to have discredited three of the strongest witnesses for broadcaster's case.

Allardyce said that Peter Harrison and Teni Yerima, two agents secretly filmed alleging that he had accepted bribes, as well as his son, Craig, had since given him testimonies that they were lying in order to impress. Those admissions of falsehood will prove crucial in Allardyce's case.

"The individuals who appeared in the programme making accusations against me have already confirmed in writing to my lawyers that they lied to the BBC," Allardyce said. "They lied in the hope of being able to make millions offered by the BBC undercover reporter to buy their sports agency businesses. Those individuals never thought their lies would be exposed in the way that they have been and have apologised to me. As a result of their greed, my good name has been tarnished by deceit and innuendo."

Yesterday, the Newcastle United assistant manager, Kevin Bond, who was investigated by the BBC while working at Portsmouth, also announced his intention to sue the Panorama programme. Bolton also said they would launch " a thorough and robust investigation" into the allegations.

The FA and the Premier League have divided up a wide-ranging brief, pledging to investigate seven individuals including Allardyce, the Portsmouth manager, Harry Redknapp, and Chelsea's director of youth football, Frank Arnesen. They will also look into three transfers related to the documentary and the actions of Liverpool and Newcastle United over the proposed transfer of Middlesbrough's 16-year-old England youth international Nathan Porritt.

The key to the FA's inquiry is that the BBC will be handing over all their evidence. While the BBC said in a statement yesterday that it would cooperate, it is understood that the broadcaster may not be able to give all of it to the governing body for fear of compromising certain sources.

In the programme, Harrison (an agent) told Chelsea's Frank Arnesen that the player was " 99.9 per cent sure he's leaving Middlesbrough." Middlesbrough privately accept that Harrison was at fault for misleading the clubs he approached. It is also understood that brief footage of Arnesen offering £150,000 to the player was taken out of context from a long meeting at which Arnesen tried to clarify the player's status and availability.

The BBC insists that comments made by Bond during a secretly recorded phone call with Harrison constituted an admission that he would consider discussing receiving illicit payments. Bond strenuously denies any wrongdoing and says his remarks were presented in a "completely misleading manner".

The tone of Bolton's statement was supportive of Allardyce. "The club takes the allegations very seriously but owes it to its fans, Sam and all of its players and staff not to overreact," it said. "It is our duty to act only on facts and hard evidence. The club is committed to conducting a thorough and robust investigation into the allegations which were made in the Panorama programme. As part of that process the club will work with Sam to establish the facts. Bolton Wanderers has assisted with the Stevens inquiry [into football corruption] throughout."

Brian Barwick, the chief executive of the FA, said of the joint FA-Premier League inquiries: "If we find evidence of corruption we will act on it. We recognise our responsibility."