UEFA chief’s clean-up goal

UEFA chief executive Lars-Christer Olsson fears European football could be “taken hostage” by a criminal element if it fails to rewrite its rule book. He hopes an Independent Review of European Football, launched in London yesterday, will trigger the much-needed changes.

He is anxious to beat the con-men who are draining money from the game with the help of legislative loopholes, putting players and clubs at risk.

Portugal’s sports minister Jose Luis Arnaut, who masterminded Euro 2004, will chair the inquiry.

Arnaut’s team will tackle a number of hot topics, including the ownership of clubs, match-fixing and corruption, the roles of agents and the final destination of money from transfers.

Olsson said: “We have no idea how much money is lost into this black hole which surrounds transfers, but we are talking about millions of pounds.

“This is something we’d like to find out in the review.