‘If there is any mud to sling, I seem to be on the end of it’: Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp hits out amid tax evasion trial

The former Portsmouth boss has rejected claims of wrongdoing after an offshore bank account was found in his dog’s name, claiming that he is often wrongfully targeted

25 Jan 2012 14:31:00

By Edward Tibbles

More On :  Portsmouth, Tottenham, Harry Redknapp
EPL: Harry Redknapp, Tottenham v Wolverhampton
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Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has claimed that he is unfairly persecuted and insisted that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing as his trial for tax evasion continues.

Redknapp is currently on trial in London along with former Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric who, it is alleged, made a payment to the manager into a private bank account in Monaco for “football success” whilst he was in charge of the club.

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The court was read a transcript of a statement by the Spurs boss to the Quest inquiry of 2006, in which the 64-year-old spoke of a conversation he had had with a friend about his innocence.

“[My friend] said to me: 'Harry, I can’t believe it is always you. It is because you are called Harry and have a cockney accent'," Redknapp had stated.

"I’m sick and tired of it. No one is more of a fan of the game than me, my son is a player.

"If there is any mud to sling, I seem to be on the end of it. You can look anywhere you want. No one will find anything on me. There is nothing in the world on me.”

The ex-Portsmouth boss voluntarily revealed the existence of an offshore account in Monaco called 'Rosie47' - a combination of the name of his dog and the year of his birth - according to the former managing director of Quest, Nigel Layton.

The charges against Redknapp and Mandaric stem from two separate transactions, with allegations that they cheated the public purse by evading tax on the initial payment of £93,100 between April 1, 2002 and November 28, 2007 as well as a second of £96,300, paid between May 1, 2004 and November 28, 2007.

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