FA chairman Lord Triesman is sure English football is clean despite the governing body having launched a probe into match-fixing allegations.The FA are looking into claims betting patterns in the Asian market were highly irregular during Derby's 2-1 win at Norwich on October 4.

That game saw Rams goalkeeper Roy Carroll sent off and the 10 men triumph with a last-minute winner.

Lord Triesman said: "The allegation has been made, we take it really seriously and there will be a thorough investigation.

"We all want a thorough investigation because I think we've got a genuinely very clean sport and the only way to have a very clean sport is that if any allegation comes up you treat it seriously.

"It will be done as expeditiously as we can do it but not at the cost of thoroughness."

Lord Triesman also responded to Culture Secretary Andy Burnham's call for the sport to "reassess its relationship with money" before it lost touch with the grass-roots supporters.

Speaking at the Supporters Direct conference in Westminster, where Burnham had earlier announced his seven-point plan, Lord Triesman said: "Inside the FA we will respond to it.

"I can entirely see why a sports minister or secretary of state who plainly loves football and is deeply committed to it, wants to make sure that the game is in good shape and sustainable."

Burnham called for more consistency in financial regulations, more transparency and scrutiny of club ownership and debt levels and rule changes for clubs in insolvency and a reconsideration of rules forcing insolvent clubs to pay football debts first.

He also wants a strengthening of the fit and proper persons test for club owners, the promotion of a competitive balance and a re-examination of the case for a quota for home-grown players.

He said: "Having strong competition as a primary goal is the way to ensure commercial success. Football clubs do not exist to be pure businesses. They do not exist to put each other out of business.

"The product is the competition. Football has special characteristics and a fundamental role in our community.

"It is right to raise these issues and we are open about them because we all want the game to have a strong future.

"I am inviting the three football authorities to take a co-ordinated and in-depth look at the questions I have laid out, and to respond with their thoughts in the New Year."

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