Peter Storrie, 57, the Portsmouth chief executive, was arrested and charged with tax evasion yesterday following a probe into corruption in sport.

However, the club described the decision to charge him with tax evasion as “seriously flawed” last night.

The arrest came following allegations he cheated the public revenue during Amdy Faye’s £1.5m transfer from Auxerre to Portsmouth in 2003.

A statement on the club’s website said:

We regard this action being taken by HMRC as seriously flawed,

No evidence has been presented in this extensive 32-month inquiry, supporting any allegation of offending on the part of Mr Storrie.

We wish to state as a matter of record that Mr Storrie will be shown to have acted in the proper and wholly professional discharge of his duties as Portsmouth Football Club’s chief executive.

Urgent steps will be taken to highlight the lack of evidence presented by HMRC in an effort to conclude as quickly as possible this unwarranted prosecution.

Mr Storrie is known by his peers to be a man of impeccable repute. Upon the successful conclusion of these proceedings, that reputation will remain untarnished, as Mr Storrie will not allow himself to be used as a ‘sacrificial lamb’ to justify these unfounded allegations.

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