Sponsored by
Owls chief ‘part of odd couple’
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp and former Sheffield Wednesday chairman Milan Mandaric were like ‘The Odd Couple’ at Portsmouth FC, a court heard.
Closing the case for Mandaric’s defence, a barrister compared the pair to Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau’s characters in the US comedy.
He also claimed prosecution accusations over payments from Mandaric to Redknapp were ‘paper thin’.
Redknapp, 64, and Mandaric, 73, deny cheating the public revenue over cash paid into a Monaco bank account.
Delivering his closing speech for Mandaric at Southwark Crown Court, Lord Macdonald said the prosecution was ‘really flailing’.
He said it was ‘desperate stuff’ to suggest Mandaric might have intended the payments as a reward for Portsmouth beating Manchester United.
It also ‘simply doesn’t make sense’ that the first payment was a bonus for the £3m profit made over the sale of Peter Crouch from Portsmouth to Aston Villa, Lord Macdonald added.
“We say the evidence against him is hopelessly weak.”
“In Milan Mandaric’s mind this was not money for Crouch, this was Milan Mandaric coming through on money he had promised months before - for a portfolio.”
The allegations relate to when Mr Redknapp, now manager at Tottenham Hotspur, was in charge at Portsmouth.
The first charge of cheating the public revenue alleges that between April 1, 2002 and November 28, 2007 Mr Mandaric paid £93,100 into the Monaco account.
The second charge for the same offence relates to a sum of £96,300 allegedly paid between May 1, 2004 and November 28, 2007.
Judge Anthony Leonard will sum up the evidence today before sending the jury out to consider its verdict.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
redalwaysablade
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 06:55 AMDo The Star know something ? FORMER Sheffield Wednesday Chairman ? Another excellent article. Deary Me.
floridablade
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 12:34 AModd couple you got that right you have to be odd to be involved with wendy
Flotter
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 02:38 PMI can't believe that football managers & chairmen are being accused of being cheats. Not with the reputation that the game & it's players have. It is just disgraceful.
Flotter
Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 02:36 PMHow much was Harry contracted to earn on the deal. How much was paid to Harry in wages in his normal account. How much was paid into the Rosie 47 account. There is no other evidence, so if the numbers do not add up & nobody is likely to confess, how exactly were the prosecution expecting to win & who pays for all this?
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.