UPDATE. September 2017: lawyers for Sam Allardyce have contacted us to say that he disputes the allegation that he gave advice on how to circumvent the FA’s rules on third party ownership.

The Sam Allardyce story puts the journalistic use of subterfuge under the spotlight once more. Was the Daily Telegraph right to launch what amounts to a sting operation to expose the England football manager?

My unhesitating answer, based on my reading of the newspaper’s articles (and not on any extra inside knowledge) is yes.

There is a clear public interest justification in knowing that a man employed by the Football Association is offering advice on how to circumvent its rules.

I cannot see how the Telegraph could have obtained the story any other way, so it is compliant with the editors’ code of practice (as overseen by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).

Nor can this have been said to be a “fishing expedition”. The newspaper obviously had prima facie evidence before its reporters took the trouble to masquerade as businessmen from a fictitious Far East firm.

According to the Telegraph’s account, it had been conducting a 10-month investigation into alleged cases of bribery and corruption in British football.

It said it began its inquiries “after receiving information that specific managers, officials and agents were giving or receiving cash payments to secure player transfers.”

And it has promised to “detail a series of allegations of financial impropriety... which raise serious questions about the governance and influence of money within the game.”

Allardyce is the FA’s main employee and the recipient of a £3m-a-year salary (plus bonuses) in a job with a unique national profile. In such circumstances, the paper’s undercover operation is wholly defensible.

It was also significant that Allardyce’s agent, Mark Curtis, and his financial adviser, Shane Moloney, were present at a meeting with two Telegraph meetings, which was covertly filmed and recorded.

This was not one of those cases in which a single, naive person was entrapped or taken advantage of. Three adults were involved in the encounter.

Unless anything untoward, and as yet unknown, about the nature of the subterfuge emerges, then it amounts to a worthwhile piece of investigative journalism.