Football agent Paul Stretford has called an end to his lengthy legal battle with the Football Association.
Stretford to serve a nine-month ban from agency work
Football agent Paul Stretford has called an end to his lengthy legal battle with the Football Association and will now serve a nine-month ban from agency activity.
Stretford, who represents Wayne Rooney, has withdrawn his arbitration claims and his suspension will begin on Monday.
In July last year Stretford was fined £300,000 and given the ban after being found guilty of a number of charges relating to how he acquired the right to represent Rooney in 2002.
An FA statement read: "We can confirm that we have received notification from football agent Paul Stretford that he has withdrawn his arbitration claim. Mr Stretford will be suspended from all agency activity for a period of nine months from Monday, May 4."
The charges included improper conduct in relation to Stretford having made "false and/or misleading witness statements to police and giving false and/or misleading testimony to Warrington Crown Court" in a case about the circumstances of how he came to act for the England striker.
Stretford, founder of Proactive Sports Management, had fought a long legal battle against the FA but lost an appeal in November.
Last year he claimed the disciplinary panel's decision was 'a travesty' and said the charges came about as a result of his appearance at a criminal trial as a witness for the prosecution against men accused of blackmailing him with menace.
