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Gifting of watches is rife in football says Dyke

FA chairman Greg Dyke says he has been given half a dozen free watches since he took over the role last year, he revealed in an interview with BBC radio on Sunday.

A row has erupted since it emerged that Parmigiani watches valued at around £16,000 were left in the hotel rooms of 28 members of FIFA’s executive committee at this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.

Parmigiani is the official timekeeper for the Brazilian football federation, which provided the watches as gifts.

Dyke was among the officials who received a watch in Brazil, and has promised to return it. He added that he will not accept any expensive gifts in the future as the British FA takes the lead in efforts to clean up governance of the game.

“I don’t like the culture of present giving in football,” he told BBC’s Sports Week. “Everywhere you go, every time you have a game they give you some sort of present. It’s usually trinkets, but if they are going to start giving presents of £16,000 then that is not acceptable.”

“I’ve been given about six watches since I took over at the FA and I don’t use any of them,” Dyke continued, including just two weeks ago when England played Switzerland in Basel. He did not disclose who gave him the watch, or its value.

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