West Ham sign Tevez and Mascherano!

[Martyn]

I think Masch needs some major match practice...we sort of didn't help his fitness level by not playing him at all when he was at West Ham :laugh:

But then...if you had played him he probably would not be with us now. Football works in weird ways :p.

[Rappy Veteran]

But then...if you had played him he probably would not be with us now. Football works in weird ways :p.

Yep pretty true...I was always befuddled why Pards or Curbs didn't play him...he is World Class...its just wrong :(

[Rappy Veteran]

West Ham should avoid a hefty points deduction from the Premier League over the signings of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, BBC Sport understands.

The Premier League is probing the signings from Brazilian side Corinthians in August 2006.

BBC Five Live's Mike Sewell said: "Any possible punishment will be proportionate. It will be a maximum of three points and a fine.

"It may be a six-figure fine. But the hearing isn't until the end of April."

Tevez and Mascherano's registration with third party Media Sports Investment could have broken Premier League regulations.

West Ham, who are eight points adrift of safety at the foot of the Premiership, denied any wrongdoing.

Sewell added: "You can dismiss any notion that West Ham will be hit with a large deduction of points.

"Any points deduction may not even be necessary by the time the hearing takes place because by then the club could already be relegated."

The double signing of Argentina internationals Macherano and Tevez came as a surprise last summer, but the moves have been shrouded in mystery over who owns the players.

The Football Association said earlier this month it will investigate allegations of financial impropriety over Mascherano's signing last year.

The News of the World claimed to have documents detailing a ?339,000 payment in relation to the deal, which was not disclosed, as required, to the FA.

An FA spokesman said: "We have received documents and will be investigating."

A Hammers spokesman told the News of the World: "All documents relating to the Mascherano and Tevez transfers have now been submitted to the Premier League to assist with their ongoing inquiry.

"That includes the so-called third party agreements and all payments relating to them, which were passed on by the club's new owners in January."

Mascherano was given special dispensation to join Liverpool last month but Tevez remains at Upton Park - where he is leading the club's push to survive relegation.

[Rappy Veteran]

West Ham have been fined ?5.5m after being found guilty over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

But the Hammers have avoided a points deduction which could have ended their hopes of staying in the Premeirship.

The club was found guilty of acting improperly and withholding vital documentation over the duo's ownership.

Among the reasons for the decision not to deduct points was because of a guilty plea and the club is under new management and ownership.

The hearing report also said that the Premier League could terminate Tevez's registration, and if West Ham want to play him they will have to re-sign him.

Tevez and Mascherano were part-owned by Media Sports Investment, the company formerly run by Iranian-born businessman Kia Joorabchian.

The transfers were negotiated by former chairman Terence Brown and managing director Paul Aldridge, both of whom have left since the takeover by current chairman Eggert Magnusson.

Magnusson has already indicated he would never have agreed to the terms of the deal negotiated by Brown and Aldridge and the new regime will consider legal action if the judgement goes against West Ham.

Representatives from the club, including Magnusson, and from the Premier League attended the two-day hearing in London.

West Ham are three points from safety heading into a vital game with fellow strugglers Wigan at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

Latics' chairman Dave Whelan led calls for West Ham to be investigated, and manager Alan Curbishley: "Wigan have voiced their opinion, and if the boot was on the other foot I'm sure we would have done the same."

The fine is the biggest in English football, dwarfing the old record of ?1.5m imposed on Tottenham in 1994 for financial irregularities.

A West Ham statement read: "West Ham received a fair hearing. The club's submission that the contracts gave no actual influence to any third party was accepted by the commission.

"The club regrets the fact that they fell foul of the FA Premier League regulations, but the new owners of the club now want to focus on matters on the pitch and remaining in the Premier League. The threat of a points deduction has now been removed and the club's fate remains in its own hands.

"The club believes that promotion and relegation issues should be decided on the pitch and we are pleased that the commission agree with that view.

"The club will reflect on the financial penalty that has been imposed and will take advice before commenting on the possibility of an appeal or any further steps that might be taken."

?5.:| :|...well at least its better then points!!!

[Brodel]

I feel sorry for Tevez, the whole season has been such a mess for him. Hopefully he'll move teams and stay in the premiership next season, he's such a good player.

[Rappy Veteran]

I feel sorry for Tevez, the whole season has been such a mess for him. Hopefully he'll move teams and stay in the premiership next season, he's such a good player.

Yeah same here but he adores the West Ham fans and the same the other way they adore him so it will be interesting...they have to either re-register him which means he won't play tomorrow against Wigan or buy him outright which will cost ?20m...

[Beastage]

I feel sorry for Tevez, the whole season has been such a mess for him. Hopefully he'll move teams and stay in the premiership next season, he's such a good player.

I'm not... the double deal was fishy from day one and if I were Westham fans I'd go ballistic at whoever concieved it because they obviously had an agenda that didn't involve Westham having a good season.

[leesmithg]

This is why they would not dock them points.

West Ham would probably go down anyway which would cost them (with new sponsorship and new prize money for season 2007-2008) would cost West Ham United at least ?30,000,000.

So they fined them over ?5,000,000, which they will appeal and maybe get it down to 1 or ?2,000,000.

The FA have known about this situation since September 2006, so the FA are at fault.

Docking West Ham United 10 points means they are down already.

I don't think West Ham United should be fined or docked points as this is mainly the FA's fault.

[Martyn]

Tevez has been cleared to play today.

[Crazysah]

They fined West Ham 5.5m pounds for this!

[Rappy Veteran]

Dave Whelan is the biggest Tool you will ever find imo...

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan says he may sue West Ham and the Premier League after the saga of the Hammers' signing of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez.

West Ham were fined ?5.5m but not deducted points after being accused of acting improperly over the transfers.

"This is a very serious offence West Ham committed," said Whelan. "They broke the law, told blatant lies and should have got a 10-point penalty.

"If we can sue West Ham or the Premier League, I am sure that will happen."

Whelan believes his club and the others fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Premiership have been treated badly by West Ham's punishment.

He added: "Justice would be West Ham being one of the two clubs that still has to go down, but justice has so far not been served in this case.

"If there was any action taken by the bottom six clubs that are in danger of going down, I'd be a big supporter of that action.

"I think the bottom six will stick together and take action together whichever two clubs go down, if West Ham aren't one of them.

"If any action is taken I think it'll be in the next 14 days and I'll support any action that the clubs want to take.

"The chairmen and chief executives have all spoken and two, maybe three clubs are in the process of taking legal advice, Wigan being one of them.

"Would we sue the league? We don't know whether we could. Would we sue West Ham? Again, we need to find out whether we can."

Whelan also says the Premier League needs to undergo a radical overhaul to stop this from happening again.

"The Premier League is in a bit of turmoil because the officials and the clubs all know what happened was not right," said Whelan.

"I have no anger with West Ham or their supporters. They are a great club and get very well supported.

"But the Premier League have handled this in a very poor manner and I think it should have been passed on to the Football Association for them to sort it out."

[Martyn]

Sorry Rappy, but I think Whelan is absoloutely spot on. Wigan can get relegated due to the injustice that was served out to West Ham. West Ham should of been docked points and everyone knows that, but instead the Premier League bottled it and simply fined them 5.5 million...which just proves they must have made a serious infringement. Middlesborough where relegated in 1997 after they where docked three points, which was simply because they had 23 players who where ill so they had to cancel a match, if Middlesborough where not docked points they would not of been relegated that season. If Wigan will go down they probably lose more than 30 million quid in prize money and TV revenue, and if that happens because of the Premier League not being fair then they have every right to sue.

[Rappy Veteran]

Sorry Rappy, but I think Whelan is absoloutely spot on. Wigan can get relegated due to the injustice that was served out to West Ham. West Ham should of been docked points and everyone knows that, but instead the Premier League bottled it and simply fined them 5.5 million...which just proves they must have made a serious infringement. Middlesborough where relegated in 1997 after they where docked three points, which was simply because they had 23 players who where ill so they had to cancel a match, if Middlesborough where not docked points they would not of been relegated that season. If Wigan will go down they probably lose more than 30 million quid in prize money and TV revenue, and if that happens because of the Premier League not being fair then they have every right to sue.

I understand your point but I just remember Whelan causing outrages for everything....he's just a trouble maker...but anyway on a side point we are set to announce this Saturday that Carlos Tevez has signed a 4 year contract with West Ham in a permanent deal if the rumours on the West Ham sites and papers are to be believed...interesting

[Martyn]

I understand your point but I just remember Whelan causing outrages for everything....he's just a trouble maker...but anyway on a side point we are set to announce this Saturday that Carlos Tevez has signed a 4 year contract with West Ham in a permanent deal if the rumours on the West Ham sites and papers are to be believed...interesting

Whelan is quite out spoken with what he says and raises some controversal points...but still I think he is right on this occassion. It will be big, big news for West Ham if those rumours about Tevez are true...but I would of thought he would of waited until the end of the season (and if you get relegated) before deciding if he will sign for you. I just cant see him playing in the Championship if you get relegated, even though he does love the fans. He is class and there have been a few clubs linked with him.

I bet he will cost you a lot more than that 5.5 million fine :p

[Shibby]

Whelan is right.

Why should west ham get away with just a 5.5 mill fine when they will pay it off straght away.

Sure the Prem league knows it would be differnt without west ham. But they have done something illegal and have been found gulity. This should be at least a 3 point pen!

[Rappy Veteran]

Sheffield United have revealed they are putting together a legal case against West Ham and the Premier League.

The Hammers escaped a points deduction despite breaking rules in the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

Blades chairman Kevin McCabe said: "We took this course of action to try to protect ourselves should we suffer as a consequence of this bizarre decision."

Of the other clubs involved in the relegation scrap, Wigan have confirmed they are looking into legal action.

Fulham and Charlton, who are in danger of going down this season, and Watford, who have already been relegated, could also be looking into taking action.

Former chairman Terry Brown is also threatening to sue West Ham after being sent a letter terminating the contract he signed when he sold the club.

Blades chairman McCabe told the Sheffield Star: "We have some excellent and reputable lawyers who have already been looking at this matter for us for a week.

"Obviously we hope that we don't suffer as a result, but we felt this needed to be done."

West Ham were fined ?5.5m but not deducted points after being accused of acting improperly over the transfers.

The Hammers could argue that there was no precedent in the case and that a points deduction was one of a list of penalties available to the panel, and not the sole option.

However, should the clubs pursue legal action, they will make clear points penalties have been issued before for seemingly far less serious offences.

Middlesbrough, for example, were deducted three points in 1997 for failing to fulfil a fixture as 16 players were either ill or injured, a judgement that condemned them to relegation from the Premiership.

And in his explanation of the decision, Simon Bourne-Arton QC, who headed the commission, said a points sanction at this stage of the season would have condemned the Hammers to certain relegation.

He added that a different decision may well have been taken if the hearing had been in January as a points deduction with four months of the season remaining "would have been somewhat easier to bear".

With two games left in the season, Wigan are one place above West Ham and the drop zone, separated only by goal difference.

:laugh:: Next up to sue is Osama bin Laden...why....because he wants to:laugh::

[Martyn]

Looks like everyone is ganging up on West Ham now...

Charlton, Fulham, Sheffield United and Wigan have confirmed they are taking legal advice following the Premier League's decision not to deduct West Ham points over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano

West Ham escaped a points deduction despite breaking transfer regulations regarding the signings of Tevez and Mascherano.

The Upton Park outfit were fined ?5.5m but not deducted points much to the anger of their relegation rivals.

Representatives of all four clubs are believed to have held a meeting in Harrods on Friday to discuss their plans to mount a legal battle.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan revealed on Thursday that his club was considering taking legal action against the Premier League should West Ham avoid relegation.

Sheffield United chief Kevin McCabe also confirmed on Friday that he had a legal team working on the matter.

Now Fulham and Charlton have joined the legal battle to see if they have a case against the Premier League's ruling.

The four clubs claim the Premier League have set a precedent by not docking West Ham points for breaking transfer rules.

A statement released by the four clubs and sent to the Premier League's board of directors confirmed: "You should understand we are separately in the process of obtaining legal advice arising out of the terms of the decision.

"You can expect to hear from us in relation to this in the early part of next week.

"In the meantime, all our rights in that respect are reserved."

The statement from the clubs continued saying: "The board are given power under the rules to `inquire into any suspected or alleged breach of these rules...

"The FAPL have a duty to act in good faith and with reasonable diligence.

"That duty extends to investigating an alleged breach of the rules where there is some apparently credible evidence of a breach.

"Furthermore, given the potential significance to our clubs of any further serious breach of FAPL rules by West Ham at this point in time, not to investigate immediately would be a breach by the League of their obligation of utmost good faith to us under FAPL rule B13.

"In the light of the above it is incumbent upon the board forthwith to investigate this matter."

The Premier League, who have taken legal advice, have said they will study the letter from the four clubs before making a response.

A Premier League spokesman said: "We will study the contents of the letter and respond accordingly."

[Rappy Veteran]

All I have to say to that is....Meh!!!

[Zoom7000]

Jealous muppets! :p The points do the talking! If we go down, it will be cause we weren't good enough. If we stay up, it'll be because whoever go down weren't good enough to stay up!

[Rappy Veteran]

Jealous muppets! :p The points do the talking! If we go down, it will be cause we weren't good enough. If we stay up, it'll be because whoever go down weren't good enough to stay up!

Amen :D

[Martyn]

Jealous muppets! :p The points do the talking! If we go down, it will be cause we weren't good enough. If we stay up, it'll be because whoever go down weren't good enough to stay up!

You broke the rules to sign Tevez...and he has got most of your points :p

[Rappy Veteran]

Sheffield United's bid to regain their Premiership status appears to be over after their bid to see West Ham docked points was dismissed.

An arbitration panel upheld the Premier League's decision not to dock the Hammers points over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

West Ham stayed up at the Blades' expense on the final day of the season, leading to Sheffield United's appeal.

West Ham had earlier been fined ?5.5m for their handling of the duo's deals.

The Blades had wanted the panel to order a new disciplinary commission to deal with West Ham.

The club also lost another claim - made jointly with Fulham - that the Premier League should have forced West Ham to de-register Tevez.

A statement from the arbitration panel read: "The tribunal have found in favour of the FA Premier League on both issues and dismissed the claims of Sheffield United FC and Fulham FC."

The three-man panel, headed by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton, did not have the power to change West Ham's punishment but could have ordered a new independent commission to judge the case.

The decision would appear to mean United have to prepare for life in the Championship.

Well at least that is over....lets get on with next season...

[Zoom7000]

Good riddence! Now, lets hope we can stay well clear of the relegation zone next season!

[Martyn]

I am glad you stayed up, West Ham are a good club and I cant stand Sheff Utd!

Just dont cheat this season ;)

[Rappy Veteran]

I am glad you stayed up, West Ham are a good club and I cant stand Sheff Utd!

Just dont cheat this season ;)

I heard we have been given Kaka for free...I think its above board :shifty:

(Joking btw about Kaka)