Now Sheffield United players could sue West Ham
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West Ham United and Sheffield United reach agreement to end Carlos Tevez affair
West Ham will pay Sheffield United up to £25 million to draw a line under the Tevez affair
One of the longest-running disputes in English football ended this morning when West Ham United agreed to pay Sheffield United up to £25 million to draw a line under the Carlos Tevez affair.
In a statement the clubs said that they had reached an out-of-court settlement and agreed that it was time to move on and bring the matter to a close.
The agreement means today’s meeting of the independent tribunal, chaired by Lord Griffiths, that was due to rule on how much compensation Sheffield United should receive from their Barclays Premier League rivals has been cancelled.
In a joint statement, Scott Duxbury, the West Ham chief executive officer, and Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United chairman, said: "Both clubs are pleased to announce that a satisfactory settlement for compensation has been reached which brings the dispute between Sheffield United and West Ham United to an end. The tribunal will not be resuming."
Duxbury said: "For everyone concerned, the time was right to draw a line under this whole episode. We have had very positive discussions over a number of days with Sheffield United and acknowledge their willingness to resolve this in the best interests of both clubs.
"This now allows us to concentrate on our immediate ambitions, which include a strong finish to the Premier League season and possible European qualification, without any negative impact on our long-term project. We wish Sheffield United well in their bid to secure promotion from the Championship."
McCabe said: "We are happy and satisfied with the settlement with West Ham. Throughout the finalisation of the terms for the agreement, the discussions were friendly, co-operative and in the best of spirit with both the Blades and Hammers advisory teams.
"We are two clubs with a fantastic footballing history who now want to move on and focus on the business of playing football - hopefully for us against the Hammers in the Premier League next season. We look forward to a positive ongoing relationship with West Ham at all levels."
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chi bye. they so lousy relegated blame my west ham
poor hammers
owner please sell mroe biscuit..
or sell to some rich arabs leh
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not 15m pound meh?
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Originally posted by limpper:
not 15m pound meh?
should not even pay 1 cent lor
they can go sue man utd la, ask man utd why let west ham win that last match!
nah bei!
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March 17, 2009
Sheffield United players could sue West Ham United
Warnock said. “No one has suffered more than him and is absolutely delighted with the outcome.
Hopes that the Carlos Tévez affair had reached a conclusion were dashed last night when Sheffield United’s players said that they are threatening legal action against West Ham United for loss of wages and bonuses.
In an unprecedented move in the English game, about 20 of the squad who played for the Yorkshire club at the time of their relegation two years ago are seeking compensation of between £4 million and £5 million in total. The move comes after West Ham agreed to pay about £25 million in compensation to Sheffield United in an out-of-court settlement to end the wrangle over the eligibility of the Argentina forward to play for the East London club during the 2006-07 season. West Ham were fined £5.5 million in April 2007 for breach of league rules over the Tévez transfer but escaped any points deduction.
But the dispute could escalate farther. Wigan Athletic and Fulham have pledged to continue their fight for compensation after missing out on prize money that they would have received had West Ham finished below them. Neil Warnock, who was manager of Sheffield United at the time, has sought legal advice about a claim. He maintains that he would still be at the club had they not been relegated. Instead, he resigned and has subsequently taken charge of Crystal Palace.
“Sheffield United players are quite right [to take legal action],” Warnock said. “No one has suffered more than me. I’m absolutely delighted with the outcome. For personal reasons, I’m disappointed that this was not sorted out sooner. We deserved to stay up and if everyone had played by the same rules, we would have done.”
West Ham said yesterday that they have not received a claim from the players, but they are confident of fighting off any actions. The renewed uncertainty will have an impact on potential buyers for West Ham, who are £47 million in debt, because of concerns about the unknown liabilities.
Phil Jagielka and Matthew Kilgallon are believed to be among the players to have contacted Chris Farnell, a lawyer from IPS Law in Manchester, which has taken up the case. “We understand, but have not been informed officially, that the club’s dispute with West Ham has been settled,” Farnell said. “However, the players’ claim will continue. We have made correspondence with West Ham’s lawyers as recently as the end of last week.”
Jagielka, for example, might have suffered no loss in wages because he moved to Everton soon after relegation, but the England defender would expect to have been paid a bonus for helping Sheffield United to stay up. A Barclays Premier League player could expect a bonus of about £100,000 to £150,000 for helping his team to avoid relegation. Kilgallon, in contrast, remained at the club and would probably have had his wage cut by half — the rule of thumb for many contracts. Players in the top flight usually earn in excess of £20,000 a week whereas they might expect up to £12,000 a week in the Coca-Cola Championship.
The dispute could take a further twist depending on the outcome of an investigation into West Ham by the Football Association and Premier League. The governing bodies are considering whether the club breached rules in assurances made to ensure that Tévez could play in the final three matches of the 2006-07 season.
Any thoughts that this will be dropped after the settlement between West Ham and Sheffield United have been ruled out by Wigan and Fulham. Wigan are expected to raise the matter at the Premier League’s quarterly meeting in three weeks’ time.
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money, money and more money.
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West Ham got so much problems... Apart from their owners going bankrupt and the problems they have with Sheff Utd the club... Now the former manager, players, Fulham and Wigan all want a piece of them as well... They might as well just change their name to Rare Ham... Are there enough pieces to go around ?
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*sigh* never ending.
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Warnock considers suing Hammers
Former Sheffield United boss Neil Warnock admits he could pursue a personal compensation claim against West Ham over the Carlos Tevez affair.
The Blades and West Ham settled out of court on Monday with the Hammers agreeing to pay their rivals an undisclosed fee following the Sheffield club's relegation in 2007.
West Ham were fined £5.5million by the Premier League for failing to fully disclose the terms of the deal that brought Tevez and Argentinian compatriot Javier Mascherano to England.
Sheffield United claim Tevez's goals kept the Hammers in the top flight at their expense, with Warnock resigning three days after their relegation.
The 60-year-old, now manager of Crystal Palace, told the Daily Mail: "I'll be looking into this now. I just wanted to see the club's case out of the way first.
"As far as I'm concerned, I should still be a Premier League manager. And I think the players have a case, too."
Referring to the settlement, Warnock continued: "It justifies what we've said all along. We've had a lot of people criticise us for taking it this far - but that's what justice is all about.
"But this still doesn't make it right for me or the United fans - or anyone else involved."
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Haiz...
Sue Man Utd if u dare... -
Latest: Fulham also wanna get involved liao.
Wigan not going to.
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sigh. all money hungry
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Originally posted by kenn3th:
sigh. all money hungry
money, money, money.....its a money world...