QPR have announced that their manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has the unanimous support of the board following the completion of an internal investigation prompted by allegations made in the Daily Telegraph.
Hasselbaink was secretly-filmed by undercover reporters as part of a Telegraph investigation with the newspaper alleging the Dutchman requested a fee of £55,000 to work for a fake Far Eastern firm seeking to sell players to the club.
The former Chelsea and Leeds striker immediately denied any wrongdoing, and Rangers — who said they had not been provided with information requested from the newspaper — have now backed Hasselbaink following an internal investigation at Loftus Road.
Rangers said Hasselbaink had been “reminded of his roles and responsibilities” as QPR manager — a position he has held since December 2015 — but he was now fully focused on his job with Rangers , who lie in 13th place in the Sky Bet Championship.
“The club can confirm that our internal investigation has now ended concerning The Telegraph’s reporting on inferences made on September 28th relating to QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink,” said a Rangers statement.
“Throughout the comprehensive investigation, the club contacted and communicated with all the major parties involved, including The Telegraph, who failed to provide the club with the information previously requested.
“Despite a number of requests from both the club and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s legal team for the information relating to the inferences made on September 28th, including video footage and a full transcript of the discussions that took place, nothing has been forthcoming.
“As a result, and in the absence of any further evidence, the Board fully back QPR manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his explanations relating to these inferences.
“Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink openly admitted he was naive and, as such, has been reminded of his roles and responsibilities as manager of Queens Park Rangers Football Club.
“He remains fully focused on his job as QPR manager, and he does so with the board’s unanimous support.”
Hasselbaink was among the subjects of a covert Telegraph operation which resulted in Sam Allardyce leaving his position as England manager after just 67 days in charge.
Allardyce was shown negotiating lucrative speaking engagements in the Far East as well as making indiscreet and damaging remarks about a range of issues including third-party ownership.
Barnsley sacked assistant manager Tommy Wright after allegations by the Daily Telegraph that he had taken a £5,000 payment made by its undercover reporters,posing as agents, to help place players at Barnsley. Wright denied any wrongdoing.
The Daily Telegraph also alleged that Southampton assistant manager Eric Black had offered advice on how to bribe officials at other clubs.
Black was filmed apparently suggesting staff at other clubs could possibly be persuaded to give information about a player to a management company for money. He has denied the allegations.
The Football Association has been waiting to see the material collected by the Telegraph, and said on October 6th that it would not have access to it until the police matter is concluded.
