“Full transparency” – Lawyer responds to Watford investigation, hasn’t “heard anything”

Mogi Bayat’s relationship with Lorenzo Gallucci is all above board and Watford have nothing to answer for.

That’s according to Bayat’s lawyer Tom Bauwens, who has insisted to Het Laatste Niuews that the Hornets and the agent have done nothing wrong.

Bayat has been involved with transfers in and out of Watford for some time, with the broker a key player in a number of deals at Vicarage Road under the Pozzo regime.

That relationship is now under the magnifying glass, though, with the FA having opened an investigation into the agent and his relationship with Lorenzo Gallucci.

The latter was a director at Hornets Investment, Watford’s parent company, and Bayat’s own MB Foot, over a potential conflict of interest between the two parties.

Gallucci resigned from his role with Hornets Investment in September 2020 but had been involved in business with Bayat for 15 months by that point, including holding a four percent holding in MB Foot, which he held until May 2021.

That, the FA believes, could be in breach of their regulations on working with intermediaries and they are now investigating the pair and Watford as a result.

However, according to Bauwens, there is nothing to answer for, as the relationship between Bayat and Gallucci was always conducted by the letter of the law.

“But this (the setup of MB Foot) was done in full transparency. That Gallucci acquired shares is the normal course of events for administrative reasons,” he told HLN.

“We or Watford have not heard anything about that (the investigation) yet. Gallucci never actively participated in MB Foot’s activities and transferred his shares to Bayat.”