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By Mike Collett
LONDON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The English FA have charged FA Cup holders Portsmouth and agent Willie McKay for breaching their rules over the transfer of Zimbabwe striker Benjani Mwaruwari to and from the club.
In a statement on their website (www.portsmouthfc.co.uk), Portsmouth said they strongly denied the charges.
McKay told Sky Sports News he had breached the rules by mistake but accused the FA of waging "a witch-hunt" against him.
"It's a nonsense. I'm not saying I never did it, I did do it, but what I am saying is I did it two years ago. Now, why did they let the transfer go through in the first place? I believe there is a witch-hunt against me and it has never ended."
Asked why he thought that, he replied: "Ask the FA. There is a witch-hunt. Everybody knows, so I will leave it at that."
He acknowledged he "may have" broken the regulations but said if he had it was "totally by mistake" and he was not aware of the rules.
AGENTS REGULATIONS
Under the FA's Football Agents Regulations, agents are prohibited from acting for two different clubs in two consecutive transactions involving the same player.
The FA allege McKay acted on behalf of AJ Auxerre when Benjani moved from France to Portsmouth for 4.1 million pounds ($7.68 million) in January 2006 and then acted for Portsmouth when the player joined Manchester City in January this year for 8.0 million pounds.
In a statement Portsmouth said it "strongly denied" the charges.
A club spokesman was quoted on the website as saying: "We did not pay an agent when Benjani joined the club from Auxerre in January 2006 and his transfer to Manchester City in January 2008 was approved at the time by the Premier League and FA's compliance unit.
"This is nothing more than a technicality which we will strongly contest."
Both parties have until Aug 29 to respond to the charges.
