Redknapp arrested by fraud police

LONDON, England -- Premier League side Portsmouth have confirmed that manager Harry Redknapp is one of five men arrested on Wednesday by detectives investigating corruption in football.

The club's chief executive, Peter Storrie, was also arrested during the series of raids across the UK.

City of London Police held the men on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

The other three men are believed to be former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, now chairman of Leicester, former Portsmouth player Amdy Faye -- now at Glasgow Rangers -- and football agent Willie McKay.

A Portsmouth spokesman confirmed: "Chief executive Peter Storrie and manager Harry Redknapp have today been asked to help police with their inquiries concerning a matter dating back to 2003. This was prior to the new owner taking control of the club at the beginning of 2006.

"The club is fully supportive of Peter and Harry who are co-operating fully with City of London Police in this ongoing inquiry.

Up to 60 officers were involved in searches at eight addresses at locations across the UK including Redknapp's luxury home in Poole, Dorset.

Redknapp spoke as he later returned to his multi-million pound home at Sandbanks, saying: "We all helped the police with their enquiries, but it doesn't directly concern me, it's other people involved."

He added: "I've been answering questions to help the police. I am not directly concerned with their enquiries."

Redknapp confirmed that he had been arrested and said: "They have to arrest you to talk to you, for you to be in the police station. I think that's the end of it, it didn't directly concern me."

The raids were the most dramatic development yet in an ongoing inquiry by fraud detectives to root out corruption in the game.

Last year the English Football Association brought in former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Stevens and his company, Quest, to carry out a separate inquiry into suspect transfers.

City of London Police would only confirm the ages of the arrested men -- 69, 60, 55, 48 and 30.

Detectives are believed to be focussing on Faye's transfers from Auxerre to Portsmouth in August 2003 and Portsmouth to Newcastle in January 2005.

Mandaric was Portsmouth chairman at the time of Faye's arrival to and departure from the south coast club. McKay is believed to have been his agent. Redknapp was Portsmouth manager when Faye arrived in 2003.

The player has since signed for Charlton and joined Rangers on a season-long loan in August.

Last year Redknapp, who has been linked with the vacant England national job after reviving Portsmouth's fortunes, was questioned by the FA over claims he illegally approached a player.

He was secretly filmed as part of a BBC documentary but dismissed the allegations as "farcical".

In July, police searched offices at Newcastle United, Portsmouth and Glasgow Rangers as well as two homes. A 28-year-old -- reported to be Tottenham Hotspur defender Pascal Chimbonda -- was questioned in September. E-mail to a friend