Harry Redknapp, the high-profile manager of British soccer team Tottenham and the man tipped by many to become the next England coach, appeared in a UK court Monday where he denied avoiding taxes by hiding money in an off-shore bank account.
Redknapp, 64, is accused of placing funds in a Monaco account named after his pet dog, while he was manager of Portsmouth between 2002 and 2007.
He is accused of cheating the public revenue of £189,000 ($294,000).
The cash allegedly came in the form of two "bungs" -- illegal payments -- paid to him by Portsmouth's then chairman, Milan Mandaric, who also is on trial and denies the charges.
Prosecutor John Black told the court Monday the payments "were deliberately and dishonestly paid by Mr. Mandaric, and deliberately and dishonestly received by Mr. Redknapp, with the intention of concealing them from the authorities and the payment of tax."
Black said "both parties must have known" they were avoiding taxes.
One of the payments during Redknapp's time at Portsmouth resulted from the £3 million profit the club made on the sale of England star Peter Crouch, it was alleged.
Prosecutors also claimed Redknapp failed to tell investigators about the Monaco account as tax officials probed a previous £300,000 payment he received over Rio Ferdinand's record-breaking transfer between West Ham United and Leeds in 2000.
The jury was told Redknapp named the secret account Rosie 47 in a reference to his dog's name and the year of his birth.
Potential jurors were warned by the judge to leave behind any soccer allegiances or prejudices.
"Let me make it clear this case is about tax fraud, not football, but it is tax fraud alleged to have taken place within the football world," Judge Anthony Leonard said.
Redknapp is the most successful English manager in the modern game, having led Portsmouth to FA Cup success and Spurs to last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Tottenham currently sits third in the Premier League.
Mandaric is now chairman of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday, having previously owned Leicester City.
