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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/spo...cle2134563.eceWest Ham in crisis after Tevez agents launch £20m legal battleGary Jacob and James Ducker
West Ham United were last night facing a courtroom battle over the future of Carlos Tévez after the player’s agents issued a writ against the London club. Legal proceedings began after Fifa refused to rule on the player’s potential transfer to Manchester United, referring the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.
The two companies who hold Tévez’s “economic rights”, Media Sports Investment (MSI) and Just Sports Inc (JSI), turned the pressure up on West Ham after the club, who hold Tévez’s registration, declined to sanction a move to Old Trafford that could be worth more than £20 million to the Argentina forward’s agents.
The companies claim that West Ham unilaterally ripped up the contract that was agreed last summer when Tévez and Javier Mascherano, his Argentina teammate, arrived at Upton Park. Those deals were deemed to be in breach of FA Premier League rules by a commission that handed West Ham a £5.5 million fine in April.
As part of the punishment, the London club were forced to extricate themselves from the contract with MSI and JSI, a move that allowed Tévez to play in the final three games of the season. He scored the only goal at Old Trafford on the final day of the season to win their battle against relegation.
Richard Scudamore, the Premier League’s chief executive, said that West Ham would have to abide by the decision the club made in April, which allowed them to play Tévez. “They were given three options,” Scudamore said. “The one they chose has made it difficult for them but we will see that that choice is upheld. They could have gone a different way.”
Had West Ham chosen to maintain the contract with Tévez’s agents, the forward would not have been allowed to play for the club again. MSI and JSI argue that they still control the player because they never agreed to the contracts being terminated.
Graham Shear, who is representing the companies, said that the companies would also be seeking damages from West Ham. “A High Court writ was served on the West Ham United’s solicitors,” Shear, of Teacher Stern Selby, said. “The companies seek the court’s intervention to compel West Ham to release the registration of Carlos Tévez in accordance with contracts entered into between the parties. We are asking the court to intervene so that Carlos Tévez can be registered to play with Manchester United as soon as possible.”
The Premier League hoped that Fifa would mediate to resolve the situation but the world governing body backed away from making a ruling in a situation that could be a legal minefield. “It is not a matter of refusing to arbitrate but a recommendation in the interest of all parties involved in the complicated affair,” a Fifa spokesman said. “We believe that it is the quickest manner in which to sort out the impasse.”
The CAS could intervene only with the agreement of both parties, but only West Ham said that they would be willing for the court in Lausanne to consider the case.
MSI and JSI may not be keen to use the court because they may have no further legal recourse should a decision go against them. The companies also argue that the CAS could take too long to reach a verdict, although the court said yesterday that it would find a resolution before the end of the transfer window next month.
The CAS was set up to provide a forum for settling sports disputes quickly, fairly and inexpensively and considers about 200 disputes each year, half of them to do with football. The Football Association is also willing to begin an arbitration process to end the dispute, but no party has yet asked it to.
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发表于 2007-7-24 23:22:00
