Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, has said in court that he believes he is being victimised because of his cockney accent (an accent peculiar to those from London). The cockney accent in British culture has long been associated with deviant behaviour, much like in New York an Italian might be stereotyped as being part of the mafia simply on the basis of the person being Italian. It’s a stereotype and a generality, Harry Redknapp claim’s that it is this generality that has led to him being persecuted and placed in court on tax evasion charges.
The charges, brought forward by the HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs), allege that Harry Redknapp recieved a payment during his time at Portsmouth Football Club which he directed to a bank account in Monaco, a principality separate from France, without paying the due tax required on the transaction to the British government. Harry Redknapp is denying the charges.
Whatever happens in the case Harry Redknapp is losing a public relations battle as a consequence of the charge. A man ought always be considered innocent until proven guilty, but yet even without a conviction some are saying that purely on the basis of the charge Harry Redknapp is not a suitable candiditate to replace Fabio Capello as England manager.
Fabio Capello is due to step down from the well paid position as the head of the national English football team after Euro 2012, which finishes this summer. Once he has stepped down the position will be open and manay have long presumed that Harry Redknapp would simply step up and take the vacancy. It probably still will happen, at least according to some sources, but the type of attention Harry Redknapp is currently receiving is not the type he wants to just before his promotion to the biggest job in English football, should that be the case. The court case continues and the public awaits the verdit.
