LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - West Ham United were fined a record
£5.5 million ($10.97 million) by a Premier League panel on Friday
on charges of breaching ownership rules over the signings of
Argentines Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano last August.
But they avoided a points deduction which could have severely
harmed their chances of avoiding relegation from the Premier
League.
The fine is the biggest in English soccer history, dwarfing the old
record of 1.5 million pounds imposed on Tottenham Hotspur in 1994
for financial irregularities.
The case centred on the issue of third-party ownership of the two
players, who were signed by the relegation strugglers from
Brazilian club Corinthians, and also the club's failure to disclose
details of the deals.
The panel gave the Premier League the right to terminate the
contract of Tevez, who is still at West Ham, although Sky Sports
News reported this was unlikely to happen and that he was free to
play for the club as usual.
The Premier League said in March their Board believed the transfers
breached a rule that no club should enter into a contract enabling
another party to influence its policies or performances.
Three months after the pair moved to Upton Park, the east London
club was bought by an Icelandic consortium led by businessman
Eggert Magnusson, now the chairman.
Tevez is still at West Ham, who are 19th in the 20-team league with
three games to play, while Mascherano has since joined Champions
League semi-finalists Liverpool on loan.
West Ham pleaded guilty in the case and as a result were not docked
points.
They currently have 32 points from 35 matches and play in a
critical relegation battle at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
After the verdict, West Ham said in a statement on their website:
'West Ham United Football Club was given an opportunity to present
its case and 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 has not been found guilty of fielding an unregistered
player and speculation about a likely points deduction has proved
to be unfounded.
'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.'
