Hammers Charged!
-
The Premier League have charged West Ham with breaching rules over the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano last August.
The Argentine pair joined The Hammers on transfer deadline day last year, a double deal that was hailed as a major coup at the time.
However, it has been speculated that West Ham do not actually own the players' registrations, a move that is in breach of league regulations.
West Ham have yet to respond to the charge and it remains to be seen what punishment, if any, may be forthcoming from the outcome.
Tevez is yet to score from his 16 league appearances to date, while Mascherano fell out of favour and is spending the remainder of the season at Liverpool.
"It is the board's complaint that there were agreements in relation to both these transfers that enabled third parties to acquire the ability materially to influence the club's policies and/or the performance of its teams in League matches and/or the competitions set out in Rule E.10," read a Premier League statement.
"The board's view is this constitutes a breach of rule U.18. Furthermore at the time of the transfer agreements for both Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, and until 24 January 2007, West Ham United failed to disclose the third party agreements to the Premier League and/or deliberately withheld these agreements from the Premier League.
"The board's view is this constitutes a breach of rule B.13, which states 'In all matters and transactions relating to the League each club shall behave towards each other club and the League with the utmost good faith'.
"West Ham United has 14 days within which to respond to these charges."
West Ham have unsurprisingly reacted quickly to the charge, by stating they will 'vigorously defend' themselves and provide the Premier League with the necessary paperwork.
A club statement read: "In light of the legal advice received, the club will vigorously defend itself against the charge and provide a detailed response as requested by the Premier League within the time allowed." -
first they brought them in when they were dong well to fire them up one level.
now they're in a mess, and worse gonna get charged! -
Hammers getting Hammered.
-
well if they do get docked points as a punishment, i dun see how wet ham will survive the relegation drop..
-
It seems quite likely that such a scenario could happen. However, the Hammers could be back stronger next season, given that they are richer than many of the CCC outfits.Originally posted by 4getmenot:well if they do get docked points as a punishment, i dun see how wet ham will survive the relegation drop.. -
West Ham could be thrown out of Premiership
tribalfooball.com - March 02, 2007
West Ham could be THROWN OUT of the Premiership over their fielding of Argentines Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano this season.
Your Ad Here
The Daily Mail says the Premier League consider West Ham's conduct so serious that they could be ejected from the top flight even if they secure enough points to avoid relegation.
According to one senior source last night, when West Ham executives were asked if there were any "third party deals" involved in the signing of the Argentina pair, Premier League officials were given a categoric "no".
The conduct of former chief executive Paul Aldridge and current deputy chief executive Scott Duxbury will come under the scrutiny of the independent commission appointed by the Premier League.
Another source last week dubbed as "outrageous" West Ham's failure to produce documents that would have exposed a clear breach of rule U18, which is key to the case.
West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson and his board intend to claim any offences were committed before their takeover.
Magnusson's predecessor Terry Brown, who was in charge when it is alleged the rules were broken, resigned from the Upton Park board this week.
A West Ham statement said: "The club will vigorously defend itself against the charges and provide a detailed response as requested by the Premier League."
Mascherano has since been transferred to Liverpool, while Tevez will play for the Hammers against Tottenham on Sunday.
Manager Alan Curbishley said: "I've read there could be a points deduction, but my mind is only on the game with Tottenham. When you go into a club, you inherit things - I've inherited this and so has the chairman."
well even if they are not thrown out points deduction is already a killer blow -
West Ham to defy Premier League over Tevez
tribalfooball.com - March 02, 2007
West Ham United will continue selecting Carlos Tevez, despite being hit by charges yesterday over his and former teammate Javier Mascherano's eligibility.
The Sun says if found guilty, West Ham could be hit with a five-point deduction by Premier League chiefs - meaning certain relegation.
But they will gamble by still playing Tevez, despite being warned of further penalties.
New owner Eggert Magnusson will sue former chairman Terry Brown for the £40m they will lose if they are punished and go down.
A Premier League source said: "West Ham are aware of the potential consequences of continuing to play a player whose legality is in question.
"They'd then have to pay an added penalty for such a decision."
Magnusson will insist his Upton Park predecessor Brown should pay the price for the latest crisis gripping West Ham, who are already nine points off top-flight safety.
A club statement read: "West Ham has been notified of disciplinary charges by the Premier League relating to the transfers of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez and have been asked to respond within 14 days. The club will vigorously defend itself."
Mascherano and Tevez arrived in August but were owned by foreign investment company Media Sports Investment.
The Premier League claim the club failed to provide paperwork when the pair joined, which shows MSI receive the fee from any future sell-on.
MSI was headed by Iranian businessman Kia Joorabchian, who failed in a bid to take over West Ham earlier this season.
In a statement, Joorabchian said: "The transfers were cleared by the club's legal director in the usual way.
"The Premier League has cleared the transfer of Javier Mascherano to Liverpool, which in my view indicates they have no issues with the players and that the companies have acted in a proper manner.
"West Ham have assured us they acted in a good and proper manner at all times."
Hammers legend Tony Cottee admitted: "It's going to be hard enough to get out of trouble as it is but any points deduction would make it a certainty. It would be the final nail in the coffin." -
Hmm, will Liverpool be implicated in this mess now that they signed Mascherano?
-
-
Anton Ferdinand has offered an apology after misleading West Ham United over his whereabouts during a recent break.
With The Hammers not in FA Cup fifth round action in mid-February, Alan Curbishley gave his players four days off.
Ferdinand used the break for a mini-holiday in the United States, but told the club he was visiting his grandmother on the Isle of Wight.
The centre-half admits he made a mistake, but insists his actions were not a sign of a lack of commitment to West Ham's battle to stay in the Premiership.
"I have made a stupid mistake," Ferdinand told the News of the World. "One I will not make again.
"If I could turn the clock back now, of course I would, but there is only one way I can make amends and that's to do everything I can to help West Ham win the relegation battle we now face.
"I owe as much to the manager, my team-mates and the fans. I would never do anything to deliberately shame West Ham, and particularly the fans, and I ask people to remember I am still relatively young and learning all the time.
"I can understand this trip looked like I was turning my back on the club's predicament, but nothing could be further from the truth.
"Because of the FA Cup, we were given a few days off, which I realise was a privilege. I then decided to book a trip to America, where a good friend of mine was celebrating his birthday. It was mine as well, and I thought there was no harm done by going to see him.
"The travelling wasn't a problem for me and I came back to the club in good time for training, so I never breached any rules like that. And I genuinely did go and see my gran when I got back.
"I absolutely did nothing wrong while I was in America. So while I'm not proud of my behaviour, I know, deep down, I haven't lost my sense of duty and loyalty to the club, and I know I didn't misbehave.
"I also know I shouldn't have gone in the first place and all I can ask is that people judge me now on my future behaviour and performances, and not on this one isolated incident." -
I am sick of footballers using all sorts of excuses whenever they get into trouble. When they get addicted to booze, porn or gambling, it is said that its because they have too much money and too much free time to spare. What rubbish! They can always go do charity work, go study part-time to upgrade themselves and to prepare themselves for life after retirement etc.
West Ham is going down, no matter what. If u score 3 goals, and still manged to lose 3-4 like they did against Tottenham, u know the players have given up the fight. And if Charlton stays up, I think Alan Pardew will thank his lucky stars that he got sacked. Curbishley's mistake is signing too many new players. Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, Nigel Quashie etc. U need time for the new players to gel, and signing so many new ones when u are in a relagation fight is asking for trouble.
In the end, if West Ham goes down, I think we can pinpoint that they cannot blame anyone but themselves for all the on-off field problems.. Effectively, the day the new season began 2006-2007, was the day they got themselves relegated. -
You do have valid points. However, with their new-found wealth, the Hammers could be on course for the 07/08 CCC title.Originally posted by nanren4ever:I am sick of footballers using all sorts of excuses whenever they get into trouble. When they get addicted to booze, porn or gambling, it is said that its because they have too much money and too much free time to spare. What rubbish! They can always go do charity work, go study part-time to upgrade themselves and to prepare themselves for life after retirement etc.
West Ham is going down, no matter what. If u score 3 goals, and still manged to lose 3-4 like they did against Tottenham, u know the players have given up the fight. And if Charlton stays up, I think Alan Pardew will thank his lucky stars that he got sacked. Curbishley's mistake is signing too many new players. Lucas Neill, Matthew Upson, Nigel Quashie etc. U need time for the new players to gel, and signing so many new ones when u are in a relagation fight is asking for trouble.
In the end, if West Ham goes down, I think we can pinpoint that they cannot blame anyone but themselves for all the on-off field problems.. Effectively, the day the new season began 2006-2007, was the day they got themselves relegated. -
They better get promoted immediately should they be relegated at the end of the season. However, i think players like Robert Green,Tevez, Ferdinand, Reo-Coker, Dean Ashton will probably not want to spend a season in the second top flight, similar to the case of Zambrotta, Thruam, Ibrahimovic, Vieria, Cannavaro and Emerson who left Juve after they were relegated. While some of the West Ham players above I mentioned did not play well this season, remember that Ashton, Reo-Coker and Ferdinand were inspirational for them last season, while Green and Tevez were star players at their old clubs. If they leave, West Ham will be left with a bunch of players like Mark Noble, who although are willing to fight for the club, is not experienced enough at all.
Furthermore, how much is the chairman going 2 put for West Ham next season? Attendance will definitely fall sharpely, merchandise, season tickets and match day ticket sales will drop too, advertisers may not pay as much for a CCC club. And they are going 2 lose tons of money as the EPL clubs are going to get richer next season. Which chairman, who just steps in and has given so much money for the manager to spend during the Janauary transfer window only 2 get relegated at the end, is willing 2 put up even more money to cover the losses that will be incurred? Players will definitely have 2 be sold to cover for the shortfall.
No matter what, West Ham is a club too good for the CCC, but not good enough for the EPL. That's the sad fact of today