Former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson "has instructed his lawyers to pursue a civil case against undercover reporter Mazher Mahmood" and News Corp. for the damage his "Fake Sheik" sting in '06 caused the former England boss, according to Pete South of the London DAILY MAIL. The Swede "discussed a number of controversial topics while being secretly filmed" at a hotel by Mahmood, who was posing as a rich businessman. Eriksson admitted that he would be prepared to quit the England job if it won the World Cup later that year and "be involved in a takeover of Aston Villa," and said that he would "tap up" David Beckham at Real Madrid. Eriksson was sacked by the FA in '06 after England was knocked out of the tournament in Germany by Portugal in the quarterfinals. The former Lazio and Man City manager "blames the sting conducted by Mahmood for prompting his departure." Eriksson: "That man was a disaster for my professional life -- England was the biggest job of my life, and he took it away from me. I would probably have been sacked anyway if England didn't win the World Cup in 2006 -- but in fact, I was sacked because of the Fake Sheik; 90 percent of what he said about me was lies. The newspaper apologized six months later, but it was too late by then -- I'd lost the biggest job of my life, and my reputation was in tatters" (DAILY MAIL, 10/6).
