SOCCER/English FA scandal: The England coach, Sven-Goran Eriksson, has come under increased scrutiny over his role in events leading up to the Football Association's incorrect denial of his affair with an FA secretary, but the chief executive, Mark Palios, has been cleared of misleading the organisation over his own liaison with her.

Geoff Thompson, the FA chairman, spent most of yesterday in talks with Palios as part of the inquiry he initiated into Faria Alam's affairs with senior staff members, which the English game's ruling body admitted in a statement over the weekend.

The inquiry is being carried out by an independent solicitor appointed by the FA and will now focus on the involvement of Eriksson and what led the FA to issue two denials, along with a threat of legal action over his involvement with Alam. These were retracted at the weekend.

The FA admitted that Eriksson did have an affair with Alam, as Palios had before him.

Initial reports suggested that Eriksson and Alam had gone to some lengths to keep their relationship secret. The inquiry will seek to establish exactly how determined that effort was and why the FA felt able to issue a denial of the affair and threats of legal proceedings.

According to sources, when the FA was informed that the same newspaper was going to publish a follow-up story last weekend, about an affair between Palios and Alam, the chief executive admitted it had taken place and he was frank about the relationship.

Sources also say the affair was almost common knowledge within some FA circles.

An emergency meeting of the FA board is to take place tomorrow week to discuss the scandals. The future of Eriksson will also be decided.

Eriksson is on holiday in Sweden and has had only limited contact with Thompson and other officials. He will attend the Amsterdam tournament at the weekend, however, before returning to Soho Square.

Thompson said in a statement yesterday: "On Monday, on behalf of the Football Association, I instigated an urgent inquiry into the circumstances which led to the FA issuing legal statements based on misleading information.

"I have received categorical assurances from Mark Palios that he did not mislead or attempt to mislead the FA or their officials. I am satisfied by the chief executive's reassurances. The inquiry remains ongoing and the findings will be submitted to the FA board at a special meeting on August 5th."

If the Football Association is minded to dismiss Sven-Goran Eriksson over the repercussions of his latest dalliance, fears that he would be due a multi-million-pound pay-off may stay its hand. If it is looking beyond Eriksson's departure as far as who might replace him, the Swede appears almost secure.

Palios failed to show up for a press briefing on the FA's new disciplinary procedures yesterday. A spokesman then suggested that the chief executive was never due to be at the meeting, despite the fact his name featured on an email circulated by the FA's communications department last week.

The new disciplinary code is designed to punish players more quickly and allow faster appeals procedures to ensure greater clarity and transparency in the way footballers are punished.

The new code was initiated by the Palios, with Brendon Batson hired to conduct a review on how disciplinary rules could be improved.

The code, which will be given a year's trial in the Premier League, Football League and Football Conference National, will lead to players being suspended immediately rather than waiting two weeks before suspensions come into force, unless a claim for wrongful dismissal or mistaken identity is lodged by a club.

Under the new code, any appeal must be registered by noon of the next working day after the match, with the FA promising to settle disputes within four or five working days. A player will remain available for selection while his appeal is pending.

The code, which brings the FA into line with FIFA regulations, also deals with on-field incidents not seen by match officials but caught on video, as well as incidents seen by the referee but out of his jurisdiction, such as the failure of a player to leave the field after being shown a red card or incidents after the final whistle.