FA Controversy: First heads roll

The controversy surrounding the private lives of English football8217;s top officials took a bizarre twist over the weekend when it emerged that English FA chief executive Mark Palios had tried to cut a deal with the media to save himself at the expense of England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. Both Palios, who quit last evening when the deal became public, and Eriksson had an affair with the same person, Palios8217;s Bangladesh-born secretary.

The FA8217;s Director of Communications, former journalist Colin Gibson, is also reported to have quit. Acting on Palios8217;s orders, he8217;s believed to have offered the media dirt on Eriksson if they kept his boss out of the story. Eriksson8217;s future is still uncertain after Palios8217;s resignation following days of speculation over the two men8217;s relationship with FA secretary Faria Alam, and is likely to be settled when the Swede faces an FA Board meeting on Thursday. However, he received a boost today from Palios8217;s temporary successor, David Davies, who backed him in public. 8216;8216;Sven has a consistent track record of success everywhere he has worked and is popular and highly respected by his players. He is one of the outstanding coaches in the world8217;8217;, Davies told reporters today. 8216;8216;It is right to say he wants to be coach of the senior England team and he will be coming back to work today.8217;8217;

The problem centers on the FA denying on July 19 that Eriksson had an affair with the 38-year-old, only to issue a press release five days later admitting both the Swede and Palios had sexual relations with Alam.

Davies, the FA8217;s executive director and former head of communications, is the man Eriksson initially spoke to on the phone when asked about his relationship with Alam.

The coach is due to give his version of events at Thursday8217;s meeting but Davies tried to divert attention away from the current problems and towards the future.