Tapping-up
Encyclopedia
In professional team sport
s, tapping up (British English
) or tampering (American English
) is an attempt to persuade a player contracted to one team to transfer to another team, without the knowledge or permission of the player's current team. This kind of approach is often made through the player's agent
. It is expressly forbidden in many professional leagues, but is not illegal.
against charges of tapping up. Most ex-players candidly admit that tapping up has gone on in football for decades. Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough
later said, "we tapped more players than the Severn-Trent water board
!"
Notorious examples of tapping up in the Premier League include Dwight Yorke
and Ashley Cole
. In these cases, the incidents soured the relationship between the player and his original club. Cole was found guilty and fined £100,000 by the Premier League on 2 June 2005 for a meeting in a hotel in January 2005 between himself, the Chelsea manager José Mourinho
, Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon
, and his agent Jonathan Barnett
.
Chelsea were again at the centre of a controversy in 2009, when the club was found guilty of inducing Gaël Kakuta
to break his contract with French team RC Lens
in 2007. As punishment, they were banned by FIFA
from registering new players for two transfer window
s.. Chelsea appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
, who subsequently lifted the sanctions on the club and the player after ruling that Kakuta did not have a valid contract with Lens, and therefore could not have breached it. Chelsea's transfer ban was suspended later in the same year, and was lifted in February 2010. Harry Redknapp
, manager of Tottenham Hotspur
, has said that activity which verges upon 'tapping-up' regularly occurs in deals between Premier League clubs, and Scott Minto
, a pundit for Sky Sports
, said that the ban was "extremely harsh" because of the frequency of it. However, there have been other cases where clubs have received transfer window bans for tapping-up; notably, Roma
over Philippe Mexès
, and FC Sion
over Essam El-Hadary
.
The practice of tapping up is portrayed in the 1953 British film The Great Game
.
Team sport
A team sport includes any sport which involves players working together towards a shared objective. A team sport is an activity in which a group of individuals, on the same team, work together to accomplish an ultimate goal which is usually to win. This can be done in a number of ways such as...
s, tapping up (British English
British English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
) or tampering (American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
) is an attempt to persuade a player contracted to one team to transfer to another team, without the knowledge or permission of the player's current team. This kind of approach is often made through the player's agent
Sports agent
A sports agent procures and negotiates employment and endorsement contracts for an athlete.In return, the sports agent generally receives between 4 and 10% of the athlete's playing contract, and 10 to 20% of the athlete's endorsement contract, though these figures vary...
. It is expressly forbidden in many professional leagues, but is not illegal.
In English football
A milder form of "tapping up" involves a manager's letting his admiration for a player at another club become known, perhaps by hinting at his interest while working as a pundit during the broadcast of a game in which the player is taking part, "he's the sort of player any manager would be very keen to sign", or by lavishing praise in programme notes when the two teams meet. There are also the "source close to the manager"-type newspaper rumours which in many case originate within the club and are intended to flag an interest while retaining plausible deniabilityPlausible deniability
Plausible deniability is, at root, credible ability to deny a fact or allegation, or to deny previous knowledge of a fact. The term most often refers to the denial of blame in chains of command, where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs, and the lower rungs are often inaccessible,...
against charges of tapping up. Most ex-players candidly admit that tapping up has gone on in football for decades. Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough
Brian Clough
Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be...
later said, "we tapped more players than the Severn-Trent water board
Severn Trent
Severn Trent plc is a British public utility. It is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.Severn Trent is a group of companies employing more than 15,000 people across the UK, US and mainland Europe, with some involvement in the Middle East.The main...
!"
Notorious examples of tapping up in the Premier League include Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke
Dwight Eversley Yorke is a Trinidad and Tobago former football player. He played for Aston Villa for most of his career, followed by stints with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland...
and Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole
Ashley Cole is an Barbadian-English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world....
. In these cases, the incidents soured the relationship between the player and his original club. Cole was found guilty and fined £100,000 by the Premier League on 2 June 2005 for a meeting in a hotel in January 2005 between himself, the Chelsea manager José Mourinho
José Mourinho
José Mário dos Santos Félix Mourinho is a Portuguese football manager and the current manager of Real Madrid. He is commonly known as "The Special One".Mourinho is regarded by some players, coaches and critics as the best ever coach in football....
, Chelsea chief executive, Peter Kenyon
Peter Kenyon
Peter Kenyon is a British businessman who has served as the chief executive of English Premier League clubs Manchester United Football Club and Chelsea Football Club, where he has been involved in contentious transfer dealings.-Early life:Kenyon was educated in Tameside at West Hill...
, and his agent Jonathan Barnett
Jonathan Barnett
Jonathan Barnett is a football agent and is the chairman and founder of Stellar Group Limited. He is credited as being the man who brought Lennox Lewis into the boxing world....
.
Chelsea were again at the centre of a controversy in 2009, when the club was found guilty of inducing Gaël Kakuta
Gaël Kakuta
Gaël Kakuta is a French footballer of Congolese descent. He currently plays for Premier League club Bolton Wanderers on loan from Chelsea...
to break his contract with French team RC Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
in 2007. As punishment, they were banned by FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
from registering new players for two transfer window
Transfer window
The transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other countries into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA...
s.. Chelsea appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
, who subsequently lifted the sanctions on the club and the player after ruling that Kakuta did not have a valid contract with Lens, and therefore could not have breached it. Chelsea's transfer ban was suspended later in the same year, and was lifted in February 2010. Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp
Henry James "Harry" Redknapp is a former English footballer who has enjoyed a long career in football management starting in 1983 with Bournemouth. He is the current manager of Tottenham Hotspur....
, manager of Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, has said that activity which verges upon 'tapping-up' regularly occurs in deals between Premier League clubs, and Scott Minto
Scott Minto
Scott Christopher Minto is an English former footballer who played as a left back in the Football League and the Premier League for Charlton Athletic, Chelsea, West Ham United and Rotherham United, and for Benfica in Portugal...
, a pundit for Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
, said that the ban was "extremely harsh" because of the frequency of it. However, there have been other cases where clubs have received transfer window bans for tapping-up; notably, Roma
A.S. Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as simply Roma, is a professional Italian football club based in Rome. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma have participated in the top-tier of Italian football for all of their existence but one season in the early 50s...
over Philippe Mexès
Philippe Mexès
Philippe Mexès is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Italian Serie A club Milan and for the French national team.-Auxerre:...
, and FC Sion
FC Sion
FC Sion is a Swiss football team from the city of Sion. The club was founded in 1909, and play their home games at the Stade Tourbillon. They have won the Swiss Super League twice, and the Swiss Cup in each of their twelve appearances in the final, the most recent being in 2011.The first team also...
over Essam El-Hadary
Essam El-Hadary
Essam El-Hadary is an Egyptian goalkeeper, playing for Sudan Premier League side El-Merreikh.-Club career:Swiss club FC Sion announced that they had signed El-Hadary to a four-year contract in February 2008, despite claims to the contrary from his club Al-Ahly...
.
The practice of tapping up is portrayed in the 1953 British film The Great Game
The Great Game (1953 film)
The Great Game is a 1953 British sports comedy-drama directed by Maurice Elvey and starring James Hayter, Thora Hird and Diana Dors. It was based on a play by Basil Thomas. Many of the scenes were shot at Griffin Park the home of Brentford F.C....
.