No police action against former England boss Allardyce

Allardyce, 62, was sacked following the publication by the Daily Telegraph in September of controversial comments made to undercover reporters.

He was secretly filmed discussing loopholes in third-party ownership transfer rules and mocking England predecessor Roy Hodgson.

Appointed England manager on a ￡3 million-a-year contract ($3.9 million), Allardyce also agreed to travel to Singapore and Hong Kong as an ambassador for their fictitious firm for a fee of ￡400,000.

The Telegraph report into Allardyce, which led to his sacking by the Football Association, was part of a wider investigation into alleged corruption in English football.

City of London Police said Friday that they had opened a criminal investigation into a single suspected case of bribery following the Telegraph's reports.

But the force made it clear Allardyce was not involved.

"I welcome today's confirmation from City of London Police that I will not be the subject of a police investigation, Allardyce said in a statement.

"I was always confident that this would be the case as there was no evidence against me. I now ask that the Football Association deals with this matter as quickly as possible."

The former Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham and Sunderland manager added:

"I would like to thank my friends and family who have stood by me during this difficult period. The position of England head coach is the pinnacle of any English manager's career and it was my dream job.

"While I am sad that my tenure came to an end early, I am nonetheless proud to have been chosen to manage the England football team and hope that today's confirmation from the police will give me the opportunity to move on."