Raheem Sterling's former agent Aidy Ward and his Colossal Sports Management agency face charges from the Football Association after breaching the rules surrounding signing minors.
Ward had been under investigation by the FA since March of last year after he is alleged to have paid the parent of an England youth talent £10,000 in exchange for him joining Ward's agency before the permitted age of 16. The agent, who boasted sterling as a client until September 2020, is adamant that neither he nor anyone else from Colossal Sports Management agency made the payment.
The FA released the following statement on Thursday evening: "Adrian Ward and Colossal Sports Management LTD have both been charged with a breach of FA Rule E1(b) in relation to to both Mr. Ward's personal activity as a registered Intermediary and the activity of Colossal Sports Management LTD.
"Approaching a player to enter into a representation contract before 01 January in the calendar year of their 16th birthday is contrary to Regulation B8 and B8(i) of the FA's Working with Intermediaries Regulations. It is alleged that Adrian Ward either directly or indirectly made an approach to a minor on behalf of the Colossal Sports Management LTD between 01 January 2019 and 31 December 2019.
"Adrian Ward has until Friday 15 April 2022 to provide a response to these separate charges."
Ward - who also boasts Liverpool and England star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as another Colossal client, could be staring down the barrel of a lengthy ban if he has no response to the charges thrown at him.
The Times claim that they have seen documents that show the FA were sent statements, text messages and receipts. Ward was first interviewed by the FA over the matter back in December of 2020.
The player at the centre of this storm has not been named publicly but was at a Premier League club at the time of the alleged approach and is now playing elsewhere on the continent.
Speaking to the Telegraph last year about his case, Ward said: "If they [the FA] have done their job thoroughly they will realise they have wasted their time. If they just ask me the questions straight I would ask: what is their source of information? Where did it come from? Who did it come from? Why did he only get it now? They got it from a disgruntled person."
