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Tottenham Hotspur football boss Harry Redknapp is set for an extended season this May as his trial on tax charges creeps ever nearer. The 62-year-old Londoner was named as Henry as lawyers appeared in court over of two counts of cheating the public revenue. He has vowed to clear his name and was "confident". Further directions will be heard at Southwark Crown Court in London on 28 May. Unlimited fine or prison sentence In January, Redknapp attended Bishopsgate police station to be charged with two counts of tax fraud. As a common law offence, there is technically no maximum sentence for the charge - meaning that an unlimited fine or prison sentence could be decided at a judge's discretion. A spokesman for the club said: "His position remains unaffected and it is a private matter." Former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, 71, faces the same charges and Peter Storrie, 58, Portsmouth FC's former chief executive, is separately charged over tax evasion.
"Sufficient evidence"
Two payments are at the centre of the prosecutions case, totaling 295,000 US dollars (£183,000), from former Portsmouth FC chairman Milan Mandaric to Mr Redknapp via a bank account in Monaco, allegedly evading the tax and National Insurance contributions due between April 1, 2002 and November 28, 2007. A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said. "The CPS Revenue and Customs Division decided there was sufficient evidence and it was in the public interest to charge Mr Redknapp."
Operation Apprentice
The charges are the culmination of Operation Apprentice, a 26-month City of London Police and HM Revenue & Customs investigation into football corruption in the English game. Ian Burton, Redknapp's solicitor, said: "Harry has co-operated fully with investigators during the course of this inquiry and is confident of a successful outcome to these court proceedings. The £40,000 figure is our estimate." Redknapp's former club Chief Executive charged In 2008 Redknapp were awarded £1,000 damages against City of London Police after they unlawfully raided his family home whilst investigating transfer deals at his former club, Portsmouth. Portsmouth chief executive Peter Storrie Storrie was charged with concealing a signing-on fee for midfielder Faye by paying it into the midfielder's bank account last November. Portsmouth FC remains in financial turmoil, in administration and relegated.
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