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Contacting a player under contract without their club's permission, trying to convince them to push for a move. Against FIFA rules and can result in bans, but everyone assumes it happens constantly because it's hard to prove. Usually goes through agents rather than directly. Clubs accuse each other of tapping up whenever a player starts agitating to leave.
Liverpool were found guilty of tapping up Southampton's Virgil van Dijk in 2017 and were forced to publicly apologize and end their interest - though they eventually signed him six months later through proper channels.
Robbie
Feb 2, 2026
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