Former FA Chairman Lord Triesman has admitted that he was surprised by the controversy about his remarks suggesting that the Spanish FA may be planning to bribe referees in this year's World Cup, because he had corroborated the rumours with a number of cabbies over the last few days.
"It was never my intention to cause offence", he said, "and I wouldn't have done if some plonker from the Mail on Sunday hadn't eavesdropped on a private rant."
Lord Triesman further acknowledged that there was no real evidence that the Russians planned to collude with the Spanish in exchange for a free run at the 2018 World Cup, unless you count his conversation with David Icke.
