Taxman May Profit From Rooney's Bets

Sven-Goran Eriksson will not be the only one keeping a close eye on the outcome of imminent negotiations between the Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen camps over the Manchester United striker's gambling debts. Rooney's advisors and representatives of Stephen Smith, a business associate of Owen who took the bets over a six-month period, will haggle over the outstanding £700,000 in the coming days and HM Revenue and Customs are sure to be watching closely.

As a licensed bookmaker Smith is required to pay betting duty of 15% on gross profits, some £105,000 should he get the full £700,000 he claims to be owed. Smith's company Goldchip Limited was granted a bookmaker's licence only last Thursday, but his lawyers McKay Law insist that at the time the bets were struck Smith was licensed to act as an agent to a third-party bookmaker, meaning duty is still payable.

Smith's solicitors are unwilling to name the bookmaker who was settling the bets struck between Smith and Rooney, leading to speculation that an unlicensed individual was bankrolling the book.

A spokesman for Mackay Law declined to comment: "We are not in a position to comment on that suggestion [that unlicensed individuals were involved] . . . All formalities in regard to Mr Smith's operation with another bookmaker have been complied with fully."

Fletcher in the know

Lord Stevens' bungs inquiry team should need few introductions when investigators interview officials at Newcastle United. Stevens is close to the Magpies' former chief executive Freddie
Fletcher, below, and last year was appointed a director of Fletcher's Newcastle-based management consultants Mercer Street Marketing
and Consultancy Limited.

The Stevens enquiry is only concerned with transfers conducted since 2004, but Fletcher could provide chapter and verse on events between 1992 and his resignation to join NTL in 2000.

Interestingly Fletcher is also deputy chairman
of Sovereign Strategy, a lobbying firm with links
to New Labour's northeast hierarchy and the
Premier League. Labour grandee Jack Cunningham is on the Sovereign board,
which lists the PL and Bernie Ecclestone's formula one operation as clients. Stevens'
investigators will begin at Fulham on April 18, although as he will not be attending this or any of the other interviews, Fulham's owner-chairman
Mohamed Al Fayed will not have a chance to ask how Stevens' other inquiry -into the death of Priness Diana and his son Dodi - is proceeding.

Quango in the cold

The government's lack of faith in Sport England is amply demonstrated by the structure of the
National Sports Foundation, which was finally launched this week - more than a year after Gordon Brown first promised extra funding for grassroots sports facilities. With the Department
of Culture, Media and Sport reluctant to give Sport
England an excuse to set up yet another layer of
bureaucracy the NSF will be overseen by officials within the DCMS sports unit, with Sport England processing applications and writing the cheques. The governing bodies of the "big five" - both rugby
codes, football, tennis and cricket - will also have a major input, with senior officials from the sports sitting on the NSF steering board.

Southgate's gambling loss

Gareth Southgate's concerns over Wayne Rooney's gambling habits were no doubt sincere but they might have carried a little more weight had the former England defender not made
them standing in front of a large banner bearing the name of Middlesbrough's shirt sponsor, the online gaming site 888.com. Likewise Boro's manager Steve McClaren sees no problem with
the club's commercial partners: "We tell [young players] to keep away from the things that could stop them realising their potential. As far as I'm concerned we go down the right route at this club."