The Football Association is now looking into allegations of potentially serious breaches of agent rules in a Jermain Defoe's transfer from Tottenham to Portsmouth.
An investigation by The Times said new evidence shows Spurs dealt with an unlicensed agent while agreeing to sell the ex-England striker to Pompey for £7.5million in January 2008.
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No action was taken by the FA at the time, but the inquiry now extends to a review of evidence uncovered by the newspaper and an attempt to interview former Wembley staff.
The Times reports that during a private hearing concerning the transfer of Defoe from Spurs to Fratton Park it emerged that Defoe, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and then-Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp, had all dealt with an unlicensed agent during the negotiations.
Breaches of FA agent rules have previously resulted in point deductions, transfer bans, and suspensions for club officials. In the same year, Luton Town were docked ten points for breaking agent regulations.
The Times claims: "At the arbitration hearing over the Defoe transfer, a panel of three QCs found that Mitchell Thomas, the former West Ham United and Tottenham player and an unlicensed agent, was a central figure in the deal. Thomas was named by the FA in 2008 on a list of agents who had been operating in football without a licence.
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"It was also heard that Levy enlisted the services of Stuart Peters, an agent who was licensed, to act for Tottenham but that a representation contract — required under FA rules — did not appear to be in place. Levy agreed to pay Peters about £1 million for his role in the £7.5 million transfer, with agent fees for the transfer totalling more than £1.5 million."
Tottenham declined to comment but Portsmouth said in a statement: “The signing of Jermain Defoe in 2008 occurred under a previous ownership and those involved in the transfer of the player’s registration from Tottenham Hotspur are no longer at the club, having left many years ago.
“The current board and ownership acquired the club in 2017 from the Pompey Supporters’ Trust and club presidents, who themselves formally acquired the club in 2013.
"The board and the new executive therefore have no knowledge of any negotiations that led to Portsmouth Football Club’s registration of Jermain Defoe in 2008.”
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Agents are permitted to act for a player, or either the buying or selling club, in a transfer but must hold a licence and have a formal representation contract.
The contract between an agent and a player, or an agent and a club, must contain "the entire agreement between the parties in relation to the agency activity", including details of the commission due.
Regulations from the FA at the time stated that both "players and clubs are forbidden from using the services of an unlicensed players' agent."
These rules remain in place today and also state that “a players’ agent shall be permitted to represent a player or a club only by concluding the relevant written representation contract with that player or club”.
The Times reports that a failure to comply with these regulations should be regarded as an extremely serious matter and could potentially lead to heavy sanctions, including a transfer ban, points deduction or even relegation. Meanwhile, agents and players can face anything from a warning or fine to a ban.
It's also reported that the panel, which included Cherie Blair, wife of former prime minister Tony Blair - concluded in January 2010 that Thomas has been involved in helping Defoe to agree the terms of his move.
The Times says calls made by Thomas to Levy, Redknapp, Defoe and Peters were detailed in the verdict that concluded with an order for Defoe to pay compensation to his former agent, Sky Andrew.
The panel sent its findings to the FA but the governing body confirmed on Tuesday that 'no disciplinary action was taken'.
But now the FA is set to reopen the case with a plan to obtain a copy of the verdict that was issued by the panel and any other evidence that may not currently be in the possession of the FA.
A statement from the FA read: “We are looking at the case, and as part of that we will be reviewing the arbitration panel award.”
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It's not clear what evidence of the case the FA retains. But the Times says an attempt will also be made to interview any former staff who have have been at the FA at the time in a bid to understand what happened in 2010.
David Lampitt was head of financial regulation but he left to become the chief executive of Portsmouth in April 2010. He is now the chief executive of a tennis data organisation.