Eighty professional footballers are to have their passports examined by English police specialising in immigration fraud in the first crackdown on the use of allegedly bogus European nationality papers by foreign players in England.

Concern is mounting across Europe and within FIFA and UEFA about the number of players born outside the continent holding European Union passports, allowing them to play without work permits.

Major investigations are under way in Italy, Spain and France, but until now little action has been taken by English football officials, who fear that the problem here is growing and that many foreign players are illegally obtaining passports using false documents.

Of the 80 English-based footballers who hold dual nationality, 21 are with Premier League clubs. They will all be asked to submit their passports for examination.

Police officials will also check if the passports are fakes or not. Most of the players come from South America and qualify for European passports because of grandparents born within the continent.

In November 1999, Derby County's Argentine forward Esteban Fuertes was refused admission to Britain after a club trip to Portugal after his Italian passport was found to be forged.

Likewise, Arsenal's Brazilian defensive midfielder Edu was barred from entry last July because his Portuguese passport was counterfeit, although he has since returned with a valid document.

Joe Kinnear has confirmed himself as the new manager of second division Luton Town. The former Wimbledon boss was unveiled as the struggling club's Director of Football on Wednesday, but he yesterday insisted that he was also the new manager, replacing Lil Fuccillo.

Patrick Vieira escaped with a one-match ban after being found guilty of misconduct yesterday. The English FA's disciplinary guidelines state any player found guilty of violent conduct should be banned for a minimum of three matches.

However, in a bizarre outcome, Vieira was banned for one match and fined £10,000.