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by **account deleted by request** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:58 am

EXCLUSIVE: Hammered! West Ham facing £30m payout as Sheffield United win legal battle

By Chris Wheeler Last updated at 12:07 AM on 23rd September 2008

West Ham are faced with having to pay a crippling £30million in damages to Sheffield United after an independent tribunal ruled against them over the Carlos Tevez affair.

Fears that the decision was imminent are believed to be behind a fire sale of players at Upton Park this summer that led to the departure of disillusioned manager Alan Curbishley.

A compensation figure has yet to be set, but Sportsmail can reveal Sheffield United are demanding £30,396,897.32 after they were relegated from the Barclays Premier League at the end of the 2006-07 season and a Tevez-inspired West Ham stayed up.

The tribunal's decision is based on the fact that Tevez - who had been registered illegally - was worth at least three points to West Ham in the relegation battle.

As a result of losing their Premier League status, Sheffield United claim they lost out on £21,788,795.

Most of that figure is made up of television and merchandising rights, as well as bonus payments for finishing higher up the table.

The Yorkshire club also claim they lost £4m from Phil Jagielka's transfer to Everton that summer.

They valued the defender at £8m but a release clause in Jagielka's contract stipulated that he would be allowed to leave if they were relegated and another club offered £4m, as Everton did.

Offloaded: Ljungberg

Sold: McCartney

Gone: Ferdinand

The rest of the claim for damages is based on season ticket sales, sponsorship, catering, club merchandising and 'lost business opportunities'.

West Ham may now be forced to make an unprecedented multimillion pound pay-out, which explains why they were prepared to sacrifice so many players this summer.

As well as handing Freddie Ljungberg a £6m pay-off, the club sold Bobby Zamora to London rivals Fulham, while Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney went to Sunderland against Curbishley's wishes, causing the manager to depart in protest earlier this month.

They also got John Pantsil, Richard Wright and Nobby Solano off the wage bill.

And it is believed as many as seven more top players were secretly made available, with Dean Ashton, Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker all up for grabs at the right price.

Some will argue that West Ham are getting their comeuppance after escaping lightly in the first place.

The Hammers were originally fined a record £5.5m by a Premier League panel in April 2007 for breaking transfer rules - including withholding vital documentation - over the signing of Argentine duo Tevez and Javier Masherano.

But the panel crucially decided not to deduct points that would have almost certainly condemned the club to relegation.

Tevez was cleared to play on and helped West Ham survive on the last day of the season at Sheffield United's expense.

West Ham finished on 41 points, compared to third-from-bottom United who had 38 points, but a superior goal difference.

Now the tribunal, chaired by Lord Griffiths, has decided in Sheffield's favour and are expected to reveal their findings today.

The judgment reads: 'On the totality of the evidence, we have no doubt that West Ham would have secured at least three fewer points over the 2006-07 season if Carlos Tevez had not been playing for the club.

'Indeed, we think it more likely than not on the evidence that we heard, that even over the final two games of the season, West Ham would have achieved at least three points less overall without Mr Tevez. He played outstandingly well in the two wins that West Ham secured in those last two games.'

Because both clubs and the FA agreed to the tribunal, it is not yet clear if West Ham have any right of appeal.

They have been found guilty of breaking Premier League rules B13 and U18. Rule B13 states: 'In all matters and transactions related to the League, each club shall behave towards each other club and the League with the utmost good faith.'

Rule U18 concerns the issue of third party ownership, which West ham breached by signing Tevez and Mascherano when they were part owned by Media Sports Investment.

The rule states: 'No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its team.'

by **maypaxvobiscum** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:55 am

wow. west ham are fcuked.

by **Redman in wales** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:18 am

maypaxvobiscum wrote:wow. west ham are fcuked.

and sheffield utd are loaded!!

by **Sabre** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:37 am

Will this mean they'll have to accept our offer for Barry?

by **bigmick** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:47 am

Sabre wrote:Will this mean they'll have to accept our offer for Barry?

Who Sabes, Barry plays for Villa

by **GRAHAM01** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:51 am

wrong team sabre mate barry is at villa not west ham

by **Sabre** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:55 am

Sorry, I hadn't taken my coffee and messed up the teams.

by **RUSHIE#9** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 11:31 am

This means we can re-sign Bellamy at a knock down price!!! :wwww

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:02 pm

Remember this was an independent tribunal and the league have to agree to the ruling before any payments are final.

by **Almighty Red** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 4:29 pm

A) HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
B) Anyone think we should go in for Ashton?

by **Reg** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:15 pm

SouthCoastShankly wrote:Remember this was an independent tribunal and the league have to agree to the ruling before any payments are final.

What are you talking about?

?

It is an independant arbitration tribunal award based on the Arbitration Act 1996 and fully backed by English Law. Note it says "The judgment reads:" and "Because both clubs and the FA agreed to the tribunal, it is not yet clear if West Ham have any right of appeal."

I believe WHU do have the right of appeal as laid down within the arbitration system and after that in the law courts if they feel they can prove substantial injustice has occured however in a nutshell it is as if they have been buggered with a 60 foot telegraph pole covered in barbed wire on a cold night.

The FA have got FA to do with the process of English Law.

by **aCe'** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 4:54 am

Almighty Red wrote:A) HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!
B) Anyone think we should go in for Ashton?

Dean ashton is a very good shout imo..
A strike force of Torres, Ashton, Keane doesnt sound bad at all actually...

Another player id look to get from WestHam is Faubert their righback/right winger... he seems pretty good going forward and seems like a decent player down the right..

by **Reg** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 3:38 pm

September 26, 2008

West Ham suffer Tevez appeal blow

West Ham have been told they cannot take the Carlos Tevez affair to the Court of Arbitration for Sport West Ham United have suffered another setback in their dispute with Sheffield United. The East London club are currently drafting a "statement of appeal" to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the hope of avoiding a £30million pay out to the Championship side over the Carlos Tevez affair.

But Matthieu Reeb, the CAS secretary general, admitted that West Ham's appeal may not even be heard by the court in Lausanne. "As things stand, CAS would not be able to hear this case," he said. "We would need agreement from Sheffield United and for Football Association rules to allow an appeal to CAS."

Sheffield United would be highly unlikely to give agreement to an appeal that could overturn the decision of the independent tribunal and the FA actually have a rule which stipulates there cannot be an appeal from the verdict of an independent tribunal.

Rule K5c states that by signing up to arbitration: "the parties shall be deemed to have waived irrevocably any right to appeal, review or any recourse to a court of law".

Ruling of Lord Griffiths on Carlos Tevez could lead to all kinds of recriminations, with opinions becoming hard facts
The independent tribunal, whose verdict has not yet been officially published, ruled that Tevez was not eligible to play at the end of the 2006-07 season and played a key role in West Ham's Premier League survival.

The tribunal will decide on the amount of compensation to be paid at a further hearing, due to be held early next year

by **Toffeehater** » Fri Sep 26, 2008 6:32 pm

Ashton is average , he's very injury prone just got injured again . I'd rather sign owen at a knock down price .

by **Almighty Red** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:33 pm

Toffeehater wrote:Ashton is average , he's very injury prone just got injured again . I'd rather sign owen at a knock down price .

. He's a great player. He's hardly Usane Bolt, but he'd definitely add something new to our attack. And as for him always being injured... um... Michael Owen...?

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West ham lose legal battle - Facing £30million pay out!

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