Sven saga creates more problems for FA

The Football Association was thrown into further turmoil in the Sven-Goran Eriksson saga after reports they tried to do a deal with a newspaper to protect chief executive Mark Palios at the expense of the England coach.

Telephone calls by director of communications Colin Gibson to the News of the World, recorded by the paper and published today, suggest the senior FA official offered to provide details of Eriksson’s relationship with FA secretary Faria Alam in return for secrecy on Palios’ affair with the same woman.