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Hammer horror story of football foul play
THE TRIBUNAL AS the old saying goes, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
And the truth about the Carlos Tevez transfer ultimately turned out to be a nightmare for the English game – from its highest-ranking officials right down to everyday fans left bewildered by the complications of players owned by "third party" companies instead of the club they actually play for.
The reality of how West Ham broke the rules – and lied about it – first unravelled on April
27 last year when an independent three-man commission, appointed by the Premier League, published the results of its inquiry into the Tevez transfer to West Ham.
The heart of its findings centred on the London club's admission that they had broken two key Premier League rules – rule B13, under which all clubs have to act in the utmost good faith towards other clubs and the League itself, and rule U18, under which clubs cannot enter into a contract which enables a third party to influence its policies or the performance of the team.
Looking into the background to the transfer, the commission, chaired by leading criminal lawyer Simon Bourne-Arton QC, found that not only did the Tevez contract contravene third party rules but that West Ham had lied to the Premier League about the existence of the agreement with Tevez's offshore company owners – MSI Group Limited (MSI) and Just Sports Inc.
The player, along with fellow Argentinian star Javier Mascherano, was transferred to West Ham at the end of August 2006, just before the League's transfer window closed.
Tevez was owned by the companies represented by Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian, who negotiated the deal with West Ham.
The player's private agreement with the club acknowledged that the companies had the "sole, exclusive and unilateral right" to terminate his contract during forthcoming transfer windows without either Tevez or West Ham having the right to object. It also ruled out West Ham attempting to sell the player. On these terms the club obtained the services of a world star without paying a transfer fee.
Critically, West Ham withheld the details of the private agreement from the League when his contract was formally registered.
On September 8, the League's chief executive Richard Scudamore met the club's chief executive, Paul Aldridge, wanting to know how West Ham had got both players so cheaply and whether there was any documentation the League had not seen. Aldridge gave what the commission called "a categorical assurance that there was no such documentation".
The commission said it believed the club wanted to rush the transfers through before the deadline, could only achieve the deal with third party agreements, knew the League would probably not accept them and therefore "determined to keep their existence from the Premier League". It described Aldridge's assurance to the League as a "direct lie".
The existence of the private agreements emerged in January last year when the Premier League informed Nick Igoe, the finance director of West Ham, of a proposed report into third party ownership of footballers. At that point, Igoe decided to forward the contracts to the League.
The inquiry followed, along with controversy and condemnation – not least for the commission itself, which decided on a 5.5m fine for West Ham rather than the much anticipated points deduction which would have ensured the club's relegation, instead of Sheffield United.
Rather than end the furore over the deal, the judgment paved the way for a series of bitterly fought legal actions finally resulting in what United perceive as justice.
Premiership bosses must be held to account over ruling
THE PLAYER
FORMER Sheffield United player Rob Kozluk has pointed an accusing finger at the Premier League after yesterday's ruling on the Carlos Tevez affair, reports Ian Appleyard.
Kozluk, released within weeks of the Blades' relegation two seasons ago, says the Premier League robbed him of an extended top-flight career by failing to dock West Ham points at the start of the whole saga.
The Hammers escaped with a 5.5m fine rather than a points deduction and subsequently finished the season three points clear of the Blades who were relegated with Charlton Athletic and Watford.
"Although I think it is good that Sheffield United have now got some form of justice, it is sadly too late for players like me who are no longer in the Premier League," said Kozluk. "I guess most of the people who made the decisions are still in the same jobs and I just hope they can sleep at night."
Now playing Championship football with Barnsley, Kozluk was one of three senior players shown the door by the Blades alongside former Aston Villa defender Alan Wright and veteran centre-back Craig Short.
At 31, time may now be running out on his hopes of playing in the top flight again – although he still hopes to get there with Barnsley and reached the FA Cup semi-finals with the Tykes last season.
"A lot of people connected with Sheffield United have had very different careers as a result of the relegation," he reflected. "The majority of us have been denied time in the Premier League and we also lost bonus payments for staying up.
"Going down under any normal circumstances is hard enough to take but it makes it even worse when you know that, if things had been decided differently off the field, it could have helped keep us up."
Kozluk spent eight years with the Blades and made 19 appearances in the Premier League before being axed for the final four games.
"I wouldn't say the team's performances were in anyway affected by what was taking place off the field" he reflected. "We had no real idea what Carlos Tevez was up to or whatever – we were just doing what we could to keep our team in the Premier League. The fact that he scored West Ham's goal on the final day of the season against Manchester United just rubbed salt into the wounds."
Commenting on the decision of a tribunal to make the Hammers pay United damages, Kozluk said: "Getting 30m in compensation is one thing, but it doesn't put Sheffield United back in the Premier League. If the decision had been made straight away that might have been possible.
"I think the chairman, Kevin McCabe, has done well for his club by fighting it all the way and I know Neil Warnock has also played a part by giving evidence at the tribunal.
"They have reached the right decision in the end but, as I say, it is too late for me."
Click on the links below for more Blades news:
Warnock calls for Scudamore to quit.
Blackwell will have millions to spend.
Hammer horror show cast shadow over football.
Tevez timeline.
Listen to our experts give their verdict on the Blades podcast.Club's lone battle to put right injustice that cost them 30m
THE FIGHT
SHEFFIELD United's long fight for justice began immediately after the independent commission appointed by the Premier League decided West Ham should be fined 5.5m rather than be deducted points over the Carlos Tevez affair.
With three matches still to go before the end of the Premier League season, the Blades were joined in their outrage at the decision by Wigan Athletic, Charlton and Fulham, who were all in the thick of the relegation battle at the time.
All four clubs threatened legal action, but ultimately it was Blades, who lost an estimated 30m through relegation on the last day of the season, who were left to fight their corner.
After the end of the season, the club launched a high-profile campaign including sending a delegation to the House of Commons led by film star and lifelong fan Sean Bean.
The Blades also challenged the commission's decision through the Premier League's arbitration process which only increased the anguish by announcing, in July last year, that although it would have, in all probability, deducted points the original decision was not so unreasonable as to warrant being overturned.
To add salt to the wounds, the arbitration panel, chaired by Sir Philip Otton, also upheld the Premier League's decision not to cancel Tevez's registration as a player after the commission's initial finding on April 27.
The commission had left the matter open to the League by ruling it could cancel the registration, but instead the League accepted West Ham's insistence they had torn up the offending third party agreements. As a result Tevez played the final three games, scoring in two and playing an inspirational role in his club's survival on the final day at the Blades' expense.
United then went to the High Court, but were refused leave to appeal the arbitration panel's finding. Throughout the last year, they have been pursuing their final avenue of legal redress by going to an FA tribunal to seek compensation directly from West Ham.
Stalwarts of the game backed Sheffield United's cash claim
THE WITNESS
FORMER England manager Graham Taylor was among a strong line-up of expert witnesses backing Sheffield United's compensation claim against West Ham, it can be revealed today.
Among West Ham's tribunal witnesses were former Sheffield Wednesday manager Peter Shreeves and former Bolton and Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce.
And United also subpoenaed Kia Joorabchian, the football power-broker at the heart of the Tevez affair, to give vital evidence at the summer hearing in London held at a specialist arbitration service in Fleet Street.
The Iranian businessman founded the company Media Sports Investments (MSI) which effectively owned the player through an undeclared third party agreement during his controversial stint at West Ham.
Joorabchian's testimony would have been crucial to the outcome of the tribunal and he was placed in a delicate position after being hired as a transfer consultant by West Ham as
part of an out-of-court settlement.
He had started a High Court action earlier in the year against the London club, claiming the club had continued to operate the third party agreement despite telling the Premier League it had been terminated.
The Blades have declined to comment on his testimony, but it is understood he did not defer from his previous court claims which West Ham denied.
In considering whether the Blades were due compensation, the tribunal looked again at the legitimacy of Tevez's contractual arrangements and particularly whether he should have continued playing after the findings of an initial disciplinary commission just three matches before the end of the 2006/07 season.
The commission left it up to the Premier League to decide whether his registration should be cancelled and they allowed him to continue playing on the understanding West Ham had unilaterally terminated the third party agreement.
The tribunal also had to consider the worth of Tevez and what impact his ability would have had on the overall performance of West Ham.
Lining up to support the Blades' claim that Tevez made a major difference – and effectively ensured West Ham stayed up at United's expense – was Graham Taylor, now a media pundit, former European Cup winner and current League Managers' Association vice-chairman Frank Clark, and former manager Neil Warnock. West Ham's line-up also included club captain Lucas Neill and then-manager Alan Curbishley.
United used official statistics to show how important Tevez had been to West Ham's season. The club also argued that his importance was underlined by West Ham's offer to buy the player from his third-party owners for over 30m last summer.
The Premier League club insisted football was a team game and that West Ham had also played poorly with Tevez in the side.FA arbitration panel line-up
Lord William Griffiths
Briefly a first-class cricketer after the war, Lord Griffiths is a former president of the MCC and ex-captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Awarded a Military Cross for service during the Second World War before entering the legal profession. Became a Law Lord in 1985.
Sir Anthony Colman
One of the country's most senior judges. Specialised in commercial litigation, particularly international oil and gas industry disputes, and arbitration law and practice.
Robert Englehart QC
Leading barrister in the field of media and entertainment and has worked on a wide range of sporting disputes, including recently advising the British Olympic Association over the challenge to a lifetime ban on sprinter Dwain Chambers.
CARLOS TEVEZ
Born February 5,1984, in a poor neighbourhood of Buenos Aires.
Scarred for life aged just 10 months when he accidentally poured a kettle of boiling water over himself.
Made debut for Boca Juniors, in 2001.
Three years later, Tevez made first appearance for the full national side before transferring to one of Brazil's biggest clubs, Corinthians.
The transfer was engineered by Kia Joorabchian, on behalf of Media Sports Investments (MSI), which had bought control of the Sao Paulo club.
Tevez was a big success and went on to play for Argentina in the 2006 World Cup, scoring in a memorable 6-0 demolition of Serbia and Montenegro.
Despite interest from several top European clubs, Tevez made a surprise move to West Ham on transfer deadline day – August 31, 2006.
The controversial deal was set up by Joorabchian and MSI, who retained ownership of the player.
A rush of seven goals in the last 10 games included the dramatic winning goal at Manchester United on the last day of the season.
Last summer he secured a convoluted transfer to Manchester United, actually a loan agreement to ensure no further breach of third party ownership rules.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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