Coventry City players Moustapha Hadji and John Aloisi are to have their passports investigated by police specialising in immigration fraud as part of a crackdown on bogus papers.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service has been asked by Sports Minister Kate Hoey to look at the number of growing problems with players claiming dual nationality.

Eighty players who say they have European citizenship because of dual nationality are to have their documents checked.

Clubs are restricted to having just five non-EU players, and the European passports are therefore a useful way to get around employment legislation.

Hadji, who has Moroccan and French passports, and Aloisi, who has Australian and Italian, will be among 21 premier league players quizzed by officers.

There is no suggestion that either of them is not entitled to the passports that they hold.

Whether Aloisi will still be a Sky Blues player when the police visit remains open to question as Bolton Wanderers have expressed an interest in signing him on loan. The Trotters also want Colin Hendry on a permanent deal in time for him to play in the fifth round of the FA Cup. 

Controversy has surrounded several recent imports, such as Arsenal midfielder Edu, who was discovered to have a forged Portuguese passport when he first arrived from Brazil.