Southampton assistant Eric Black ‘filmed offering advice on giving bribes to officials at other clubs’

Former Aston Villa interim manager allegedly caught on camera revealing ‘a couple of grand’ would see colleague pass player info to company.

SOUTHAMPTON assistant manager Eric Black is the latest football personality to be named in a newspaper sting on bungs.

The Telegraph claims it filmed the former Scotland international and Aston Villa interim manager ‘offering advice on giving bribes to officials at other clubs during conversation about signing players’.

Black is heard saying that ‘a couple of grand’ would be enough for a colleague at a rival club to ‘pass on information about players to a company that wanted to represent footballers’.

Black allegedly names the assistant manager of a Championship outfit, saying: “It doesn’t take too much to get these people involved [because] they won’t have an awful lot of money.”

Black denied the claims on Thursday night after Southampton issued a statement earlier in the evening.

It read: “Southampton Football Club has today been made aware by The Daily Telegraph that, as part of their on-going investigation, the club’s Assistant First Team Manager Eric Black will feature as part of an article in tomorrow’s paper.

“The club immediately requested to be sent, by The Daily Telegraph, the details of this article, but the newspaper declined to share any further information.

“We have today contacted The FA and The Premier League, and intend to work closely with both bodies on this matter when the facts become clear.

“Southampton Football Club is fully committed to investigating any situation that directly or indirectly relates to our club, employees or the wider community.”

Black was named assistant to new Saints boss Claude Puel earlier this summer after taking charge at Villa for just seven games.

The 52-year-old has been in the game for a long time and has also managed Motherwell, Coventry City, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Rotherham United.

The Telegraph’s sting started with the outing of England boss Sam Allardyce, who was filmed attempting to help undercover journalists get around loopholes regarding third-party ownership as well as negotiating a £400,000 deal to talk at seminars.

Allardyce left his Three Lions role after 67 days in charge, and Wednesday saw the turn of three more big names.

Barnsley sacked assistant Tommy Wright after he accepted a £5,000 bribe from reporters.

Leeds owner Massimo Cellino was also filmed, as was QPR boss Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.