WAYNE ROONEY'S agent Paul Stretford has called his £300,000 fine and 18-month ban “a travesty” after he was punished for breaking regulations when he signed up the England striker.
Stretford will appeal against the sanctions imposed by a disciplinary commission after the agent was charged by the Football Association relating to how he acquired the right to represent Rooney in 2002.
Stretford, founder of Proactive Sports Management which became the Formation Group, was found guilty of seven out of nine charges.
The commission ruled Stretford “muscled in” to persuade Rooney to breach his representation contract with previous agents Pro-Form, but a charge he had enticed the player to do so was not proven.
Some of the charges were for improper conduct, in relation to Stretford “making of false and/or misleading witness statements to police and giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court,” about the circumstances of how he came to represent Rooney.
The ban will not come into force until after any appeal. The second nine months of the suspension will not be invoked so long as he is not found to have not broken any other regulations.
Stretford said: “I believe the verdicts of the disciplinary panel against me are a travesty.”