Sport 02-06-2005 Cole-gate Ends in Record Fines who: England defender Ashley Cole what: Fined £100,000 for illegal talks with Chelsea where: LONDON when: Wednesday snippet: The Ashley Cole tapping-up scandal has "ignited in extraordinary fashion," says The Independent`s Sam Wallace on Thursday, after the Arsenal defender "vowed to launch a legal battle against the Premier League after it imposed unprecedented fines of £600,000 on the England full-back, Chelsea and Jose Mourinho". "We are absolutely furious about both the decision and what appears to be an unrelated penalty," says his lawyer Graham Shear, quoted in The Sun. "It harks back to the master and servant working relationship of 100 years ago. The decision does not deal with the extremely important issue of restraint of trade so far as footballers are concerned and it doesn`t explain why footballers cannot speak to prospective employers." The charge harks back to a meeting between Cole, his agent Jonathan Barnett, the Chelsea manager, football agent Pini Zahavi and the Stamford Bridge chief executive Peter Kenyon at London`s Royal Park Hotel on January 27th this year, which was exposed by The News of the World the following Sunday. On Wednesday, Cole was fined £100,000, Chelsea were fined £300,000 and Mourinho was fined £200,000 by the Premier League commission. "Tapping-up normally takes place on the telephone, but the revelation of the timing, venue and the choice of biscuits at the infamous meeting and the subsequent complaint from Arsenal made Colegate an exceptional case," comments Matt Dickinson, chief football correspondent at The Times. "As Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said: `It is an arrogance where you think you are above everything and can do anything you want. They should have held the meeting in the middle of the M25`." "If Cole is successful then he could tear apart Premier League rule K5, which prohibits a player contracted to one club from approaching another with a view to negotiating a transfer," explains The Telegraph. However, points out reporter Mihir Bose, the case highlights the sport`s inability to deal with the ringleaders, Pini Zahavi and Jonathan Barnett, who "played a critical role in arranging the meeting" but "were not subject to the inquiry as they do not come under the jurisdiction of the Premier League". Fellow Telegraph commentator Paul Hayward hopes that the case will not be dragged out. "Judging by his form over the last few months, Cole`s head is already scrambled enough without him volunteering to be a guinea pig in the European courts." [... more]

What The Papers Say is delivered to thousands of readers every morning by web, WAP and email. Sign up today!