Police probe Wigan `deal'

Greater Manchester police are investigating allegations that Wigan's chairman, Jack Robinson, has been involved in an attempted deception over a bogus transfer deal, writes Dave Hadfield.

The allegations concern the Wigan and Great Britain prop, Neil Cowie, who was wrongly named in a local paper as being one of the players involved in a controversial holiday in Tenerife before Wigan's Challenge Cup defeat by Salford last month. Robinson is suing the paper for libel over the article.

The allegation, which is the subject of the police investigation, is that there has been an attempt by Robinson to inflate potential damages from the libel action by claiming that a non-existent move to Leeds by Cowie had fallen through as a result of the article.

The Rugby League's chief executive, Maurice Lindsay, said that he was "devastated" by the allegations and would be investigating further.