Tevez affair ruling

Last updated: 23rd September 2008  

Tevez affair ruling

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It has been announced that a Football Association arbitration has ruled in favour of Sheffield United against West Ham United in their compensation claim over the Carlos Tevez affair.

The ruling relates to Tevez's transfer to Upton Park, which was shrouded in controversy after it emerged businessman Kia Joorabchian had engineered the transfer and that his company part-owned the Argentine.

West Ham were found guilty of failing to declare this and breaching the rules on third-party ownership, and the Hammers were handed a £5.5million fine by the Premier League, but there was no points deduction.

Sheffield United were relegated from the top flight after Tevez struck on the final day of the 2006/07 season to save West Ham, and the Blades have since pursued compensation, with Sky sources reporting the Championship outfit are demanding a fee in the region of £30m.

What are your thoughts on this latest twist? Was the FA arbitration right to rule in the Blades' favour? Would the reported £30m compensation make up for the club's demotion to England's second tier? And what of former manager Neil Warnock's comments that the ruling is 'justice'?

Let skysports.com know your thoughts using the feedback form below and we will publish a selection.

Comments (72)

Ian Booth (Sheffield Wednesday fan) says...

Surely the guilty parties are West Ham & the football authorities. West Ham were punished by the authorities for their wrong doings and it should end there. Sheff Utds complaint should be with the footbal authorities whom failed to do what they should have. Hate to say it, as an Owl, but htey do have a valid point, but point the guns at the right people; get the Premier League, Dave Richards et al, and th eF.A. to stump up the cash and then move on. Show how good you are and win a place at the big table and then try to stay there by gaining enough points to justify it over the next 38 games!

Posted 15:07 1st October 2008

Paul Sanders (West Ham United fan) says...

Sheffield Utd's attempt to gain 'compensation' should be exposed for what it is and that is an effort backed by 'fat cat' lawyers (who stand to make a furtune out fo the case by the way) to obtain undue and undeserved financial reward. The Tevez situation and the 'crime' amounted to no more than poor administration on the part of the then hammers board. How the existing board can be held to count beggars belief. Grow up Sheffield and enjoy life where you and Neil Warnock belong, in the lower leagues. !

Posted 19:31 30th September 2008

Matt Davies (West Ham United fan) says...

Cannot believe that Sheffield Utd have the cheek to claim £30 million in compensation when they broke the same rule when they signed Kabba from Watford!!!! Fact is you lost 8 of your last 11 games and we never, you can never predict a result with or without Tevez, and what the sheff uts fans forget is that Tevez didn't feature in our side for the majority of the season, and if it wasn't down to them being a very poor squad, they wouldn't of found themselves in a relegation dog fight with the last 10 games to go. As for Fulham, they cannot even begin to get involved because the only reason they stayed up that season was because Liverpool fielded their 11 string team. Message to all Sheff Utd fans, enjoy life in the football league as you won't be back in the premiership for a long time regardless if you get the money. X

Posted 18:06 30th September 2008

Alex Hayden (West Ham United fan) says...

West Ham cheated the system, they where caught, they where finned by the FA, there was no rule to say they had to be deducted points. That is where it ends. Sheffield are not good enough to play in the Prem, if they where they would have bounced back. If West Ham are finned AGAIN sheffied united should pay back the paracute payments they recievied for getting relegated. Why should they have an unfair advantage over other championship sides.

Posted 13:19 30th September 2008

Neil Tolson (Sheffield United fan) says...

It's all about cheating though and West Ham did that in spades. Unfortunately they were only cheating the likes of Sheff Utd, Wigan and Fulham and so the splendid officials at the Prem thought it was OK for a slap on the wrist. Make no mistake, if their cheating had an affect on Man Utd, Liverpool or Arsenal it would have been sorted (with a proper points deduction) there and then. Pay the 30mill (out of the 60 you got for staying in the league unjustly) and move on. Keep Sport Clean.

Posted 08:59 26th September 2008

Norman Woollatt says...

I would just like to remind Sheffield United that the game of football is about winning games on the pitch. If you WIN enough games you stay up. Don't blame some other individual for your own shortcomings.

Posted 19:59 25th September 2008

Chris Holt says...

i think that sheffield united should be ashamed with themselves. west ham have been punished already for their breach of rules and in all fairness the current ownership is different to that in charge then so it is unfair to punish them for someone elses crime. at the end of the day, yes if tevez had not been played then sheffield may have survived but they went down due to thier inability to win their games. to m me it seems like they are just very sore loosers!

Posted 13:49 25th September 2008

Keith Bruton says...

West Ham cheated. Sheffield are right to demand compensation and West Ham should pay up. This mess would have been sorted if the Premier League had not been so weak and gutless in the first place. West Ham should have been relegated.

Posted 12:06 25th September 2008

Julian Cosgrove says...

What Sheffield Utd did or didn't do is irrelevant. If Tevez is deemed not to have contributed to West Ham's survival, why play him at all? Anyone who understands football knows that Tevez played a blinder for West Ham and at the time, many were referring to his single handed effort to keep them up. If he didn't play that well, why is he now at Man Utd? Fergie obviously saw his quality as we all did. West Ham may have been punished once but what have Sheffield Utd gained? Nothing. Ironic that a fine of £30m would be about the fee for Tevez.

Posted 09:49 25th September 2008

Simon Jones says...

Where does it end though? Don't Charlton have a case for compensation, if the panel use the same logic and deduct all the points won supposedly 'by Tevez', then Charlton would have finished a place higher and got more prize money? West Ham were still in the PL this season...surely any team finishing below them in the league had a case as WHU should have been playing championship football? Decision is madness, I've got no love for WHU but for the sake of football I hope they can overturn this.

Posted 09:01 25th September 2008

Dave Bensley says...

I think most of you........No all of you need to read the original findings of the Premier league. West Ham WERE NOT found guilty of playing an illegible player, Teves's registration was excepted and approved by the PL not once but twice. They were not found guilty of illegible paperwork either, they were found guilty of 'irregular paperwork' and nothing more, something that no other club has been found guilty on. Therefore no precident had been set as far as punishment was concerned so there has been no 'one rule for them another one for us' with one exception, all previous punishments where a new regime has taken over, and they were not aware of the previous regimes wrongdoing has NEVER resulted in a deduction of points only fines, and none as big as West Ham got. The premier league only found out about the paperwork because the new regime at West Ham handed in the correct paperwork on the 'transfer' of Mascarano to Liverpool and therefore, according to the premier league, could have had no knowledge of the previous regimes wrongdoing (there conclusion not mine) All teams had 38 games in that season, most teams having a first team squad of 30 odd players, to suggest one man from one team has any influence over another teams season long outcome is ignorant at best, laughable at worst. It was also the premier leagues opinion that had the matter been dealt with at the time instead of at the end of the season, it would have been highly unlikely that a reduction of points would have been approved of then either. West Ham have been dealt with according to PL rules and regulations, whether you approve of the way they handled it or not, although this does not consider ethics, respect, or trust, it does consider the points of law, which after all is the only thing Sheff Utd can work within.

Posted 08:23 25th September 2008

Russ Williamson says...

At the end of the day they should just drop the enquiry - Sheffield United are just bitter (as always) - They are NOT a premiership club and never will be - I would understand more if the last game was West Ham vs Sheffield United and Tevez scored the winning goal to send United down, But that didnt happen did it - Best thing to do is drop it and get on with trying to survive this season in the Championship - Also good result for Arsenal School boys against Sheffield United on Tuesday night

Posted 08:15 25th September 2008

John Wiseman (Yeovil Town fan) says...

Everyone seems to be missing the point, WHU and Impartial fans alike! The PL panel and Arbitration's that went before did not have all the facts as both WHU and the PL covered up a botch job. That is why SUFC lost those claims. Now after Kia Joorabchian's solicitor has spilled the beans the truth has come out at this latest FA hearing and SUFC have rightly IMO won the case. The 3rd party agreement was ripped up but WHU agreed to do a back door deal and still abide by the agreement so breaking rules. One would think that if this had come out at the beginning then a standard points deduction would have occurred ending this sorry charade. The facts are the PL did not do a thorough enough job and WHU can't deny they had a shady deal still going on after they told the PL the agreement was gone. ¿30million is not enough compensation for PL status and WHU should grab this deal with both hands and settle this once and for all and enjoy this season in the PL. It may be years before SUFC see the PL again for no fault of their own. Yes they were one of the poorest sides that season but so were WHU (without Tevez) who knows what would have happened but what cannot be disputed is that the PL did not do their job and more importantly WHU did break rules and lie.

Posted 07:09 25th September 2008

Dave Brown (West Ham United fan) says...

I am getting sick of the bitterness of Sheff Utd, they had their chance to stay up. They lost 8 of their last 11 PL matches & in that run stuffed us 3-0. I believe a certain Carlos Tevez was playing that day! Like has been previously said, West Ham's punishment may have seemed light, but it was resolved then & Tevez was cleared to play. Quite simple if you had got a point on the final day, you would have retained your PL status & you would not be asking for a ridiculous amount of compensation! Also grea result against the Arsenal kids last night!!!

Posted 16:23 24th September 2008

Shaun Craig (Manchester United fan) says...

Some people seem confused. West Ham committed a crime against the game of football. The end victim of said crime was Sheffield Utd. If a team field an illegal player in a cup competition they are thrown out, and the team affected by the infringment takes their place back in the competition (a la Bury/Chester a few years ago). As doing such a thing would have a negative effect on all Premiership and Championship clubs, the only possible solution is to redress the financial costs to Sheffield Utd. The club is responsible for the actions of ALL employees. Whomever did the deals on behalf of West Ham is irrelevant, it's West Ham's problem. Both parties agreed to abide by the decision of the tribunal, which included someone selected by West Ham themselves.

Posted 13:59 24th September 2008

Keith Reeves says...

It is all too easy for fans of other football clubs to claim this matter should be finished when it is not their club that has had to suffer. West Ham had broken strict rules and they were only fined a small amount of money in Premier League terms, no huge points deductions like lower league clubs have suffered recently for breaking rules, no exclusions from the competition as happened in the cricket for fielding ineligible players over the summer, the Premier League bottled it. It would be unfortunate for the West Ham fans as they themselves are innocent but that does not make it right for Sheffield Utd who were relegated at West Ham's pleasure. English football has lost its sense of fair play to the businessmen who now own it.

Posted 11:45 24th September 2008

Gary Amor (West Ham United fan) says...

To be fair this has all got way out of hand. 1st West Ham, rightly or wrongly, were punished with a fine for the whole affair when it was brought to the attention of the PL by the new owners. 2nd If Sheffield Utd want justice they should, in fairness not be happy until we are relegated and they are reinstated back to the premier league. 3rd It could be argued that Tevez and Mascherano were partly the reason that we were down the bottom of the league in the first place so to say that Tevez saved us could be concidered an invalid point. Yes I probably would be screaming blue murder if it was the other way round, i seem to remember that Sheff Utd used a player playing for his 3rd club that season which i believe is against FIFA rules, but the fact is it is the FA that have caused this by not carrying out the correct punishment in the first place. In any case who is to say that West Ham wouldnt have tried harder sooner if they had points deducted and stayed up anyway. Once Tevez was allowed to play anything that happens after that point should be irrelevant as his is no longer inelligable anyway. If the not being in the premiership is worth 30mil quid to McCabe then I am sorry to say they should be given it in the hope they never return while he is in charge. I feel for the Sheff fans as they are being tarnished by a greedy money grabbing man whos lack of morales is unbelievable. Fight for Justice my a***. Fight for money more like. Well enjoy you £30 mil in the Championship McCabe but you could have just killed football for everyone through you bloody mindedness. I this ends now and McCabe gets his money, there will be all sorts of cases contesting decisions made by refs, leagues and other ruling bodies. Football could see its self tied in legal knots as a result of this. Well done McCabe.

Posted 10:54 24th September 2008

Lorna O'neill says...

West Ham should be made to pay and pay big. The whole thing stinks to high heaven, Tevez pops up with the goal to keep Wham up after United won the title. then ten minutes later..Tevez is off to Old Trafford. A year later, and Wham return the favour by rolling over against Man U with Curbishley lauding them for the title, and bless... their own fans cheering as the Man U goals went in. Oh, and Mr Jorabchain has compounded it still further with his comments, one day the whole sorry truth will come out, in the meantime, maybe Man U will reach into the coffers and give WHam another "dig out"

Posted 08:49 24th September 2008

Adam Minter (Liverpool fan) says...

I think that by saying that Tevez is the reason in which West Ham Utd stayed up you would be stating the uncomprehendable rule of "English" football that........... ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Say Tevez wasnt playing that day against Man Utd but all of a sudden Anton Ferdinand decided to play striker and score a hat trick past his brother. Its something that is unpredictable and cannot be questioned by a panel no matter wether they be of the most esteem figures in football or my next door neighbour. Yes i think West Ham should have had points deducted at the time but to suggest now after a whole season that Tevez is the reason a poor Sheffield Utd went down then that is ludicrous and unjust to West Ham who were lucky in the punishment they got.

Posted 08:35 24th September 2008

Suzanne Purtow says...

With regard to West Ham being penalised again over the 'Tevez' affair - in this country you cannot be tried for the same offence twice in our Law Courts. The Hammers were found guilty and fined before - that should have been it. Now we have been tried a second time and found guilty again and have to accept a second punishment for the same offence with no right of appeal. This is against all laws of justice

Posted 08:27 24th September 2008

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