Middlesbrough opt against legal route
Saturday, 23 September 2006 14:45Middlesbrough have confirmed they will not make a complaint against Chelsea, Liverpool or Newcastle over Nathan Porritt, who featured in BBC programme Panorama's revelations into alleged corruption in the game.
Peter Harrison, who acts as agent for Boro's Academy scholar, claimed to have held talks about the player with Newcastle and was filmed in discussions with representatives from both Stamford Bridge and Anfield.
However, while the Teessiders will be making a formal complaint over Harrison to the Football Association and the Premier League, they will not pursue any action against the clubs.
Writing in his programme notes for today's Barclays Premiership clash against Blackburn, chief executive Keith Lamb said: 'We do not intend to report any of the clubs involved as we do not feel they should be held to account.
'Our view is that individuals within those clubs may have overstepped the mark, and we will leave it to their clubs to deal with.
'We heard at the time that Nathan had also been offered to Newcastle, but the conversation was taking place at a fairly low level.
'When I called Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd to make him aware of what was going on, he ensured the staff involved brought an immediate halt to any discussions.
'So while we will not be pressing for any action against the clubs involved, we will be making a formal complaint to the FA and the Premier League about the actions of Peter Harrison, who we believe has not acted in the best interests of his client.
'We find it totally unacceptable that Harrison displayed no regard for this football club.'
