Sam Allardyce faces a lengthy ban from football after the catastrophic blunder that cost him the England job.
The manager was forced out of his dream role on Tuesday after being filmed advising fake businessmen how to circumvent FA rules on the issue of third party ownership during a Daily Telegraph sting operation.
The fact he so openly advised the bogus associates about flouting his employer’s regulations not only cost him his job, but left him open to a potential FA charge.
Such a charge could trigger a lengthy ban for Allardyce, who at 61 is in the latter stages of his managerial career.
The FA handed former England manager Don Revie a 10-year ban in 1977 after he quit while still under contract to take up a role with the United Arab Emirates. That punishment was eventually overturned.
This time the FA will not be considering disciplinary action against their disgraced former boss until police have finished their investigation into this week’s revelations.
FA chief executive Martin Glenn said: ‘It is realistic he could be charged. The Telegraph are releasing the full transcripts to the police, which is what has to happen, and once we get full access to them we’ll pass them to our integrity unit.
‘The decision will be based on the merits of the evidence. You could guess that bringing the game into disrepute might be a possible charge. The punishment could range from a fine to a ban.’
Glenn insisted that Allardyce’s past, including the Panorama documentary that questioned his transfer dealings, was thoroughly considered by the FA.
‘We knew he was a man of the world, we knew there had been a Panorama inquiry a few years ago,’ said Glenn.
‘We checked with our integrity unit. We were conscious there were no inquiries under way that would implicate him.’
Daily Mail