UEFA uneasy about West Ham United dealings

UEFA feels helpless right now to do anything about the strange dealings at English West Ham United.

Recently, Argentine World Cup players Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano were dealt to the club. Despite interest from some of Europe's elite clubs, the former Brazilian Corinthians pair chose to join Premier League also-rans West Ham.

Several details and rumours have emerged in the British press, leaving UEFA admitting they are worried about the situation surrounding two players seemingly that seems to be controlled by an investment group as opposed to a club.

"The West Ham situation concerns us, whether regarding the identity of the eventual owners of the club or the case of Tevez and Mascherano, because we don't know who owns their registration," UEFA spokesman William Gaillard told AFP.

According to the British press, the two players are owned by Media Sports Investment (MSI), a group that also holds a majority stake in Corinthians.

One of MSI's owners, Iranian-born Kia Joorabchian, is also among a consortium of businessmen involved in what was a secretive takeover attempt at West Ham.

Complicating matters is the involvement of Pini Zahavi, the Israeli agent who brought in Russian owners to Chelsea and Portsmouth. Zahavi says he met Joorabchian "many years ago" and is acting for the London-based Iranian in the same way he did Roman Abramovich and Alexandre Gaydamak.

Zahavi admitted any deal would be a financial windfall for him.

"This concerns us. But I don't think the British government can do anything and neither can we," added Gaillard.

Zahavi told Sportsmail how he masterminded the transfer of Tevez and Mascherano, and put Joorabchian in contact with West Ham officials. But he denied reports that he plans to invest any money in the latest venture.

"If the players are a big success I make money," he said. "Not just if they leave West Ham in the future but if they do well at West Ham. That said, I would be involved in any transfer. But if they stay at West Ham and they are successful I will be one of the beneficiaries.

"It was my idea to bring the players to West Ham. The idea was to keep them together and let them play together. It was my professional judgment that it would be the best thing for them.

"There is no conspiracy. I am just involved with a lot of people who love football. When Manchester United were taken over I was not involved. The same with Aston Villa. But when I can get involved I do, as you have seen at Chelsea and Portsmouth."

The news has made FIFA rethink its regulations, and now FIFA said it would try to invoke new rules forcing individuals trying to take over clubs to reveal their identities.

According to British reports, West Ham is paying only half of the two new players' wages, with MSI getting the tab on the other half.

MSI retained the players' registrations and when they left Corinthians, with the Sao Paulo club receiving nothing and West Ham paying nothing.

"Theoretically there are no rules outlawing it," said Gaillard when asked if there was anything wrong with an investment company owning players' registrations.

"The players maybe have a problem in knowing who owns their contracts. If they don't have a contract with West Ham but have one with MSI. But we still don't know, we're in the dark. Right now, no one can do anything and that's what's alarming. Nothing is stopping anonymous people owning clubs or even players.

"We don't know if these players are owned by others, but this idea is still serious."

Joorabchian had much success in building up Corinthians. He brought in better players, tripled the club's sponsorship, doubled crowds and increased revenue by 500 percent in the first year. In his first season, the club won the league.

He tried to put together a bid to take over Arsenal in 2004. His time at MSI has been controversial because of his links with Boris Berezovsky, whose extradition is sought by Russia on criminal charges.

Joorabchian vehemently denied that there is any Russian money backing him or MSI, even though Berezovsky has flown to Brazil and promised to build Corinthians a new stadium.

Zahavi insists that Joorabchian can deliver. Others doubt his ability to raise the GBP 70 million that would be required to take charge but Zahavi said Joorabchian has the right people behind him and the knowledge to pull it off.

"Look what he did in Brazil at Corinthians," Zahavi said. "After a year there they won the Championship. But he is not going back to Brazil . He is in London now to take care of family matters after the sad death of his father."

One of the backers is not Georgian businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.

Rumours have swirled that Joorabchian is pursuing Eastern European backers, but Patarkatsishvili said, while he knew one of West Ham's potential suitors, he was not planning a bid.

"Reports about my plans to buy West Ham are not true," said Patarkatsishvili. "I'm just close to people who are thinking about buying this club. I know these people for a long time.

"Even if I wished to buy it, I would not be able to as I own Dinamo (Tbilisi) and, according to FIFA rules, this would be prohibited."

West Ham is basically a family owned club. The majority shareholders are chairman Terrence Brown and two descendants of the men who founded the club in 1895, Charles Warner and Martin Cearns. Brown controls 40 percent of the shares. Warner, a great grandson of Arnold Hills, the club founder, owns another 21 percent. Cearns, the son of a former chairman, holds 9.1 percent.

The club owns its stadium and has other valuable assets including a training ground at Chadwell Heath and a community centre. However, there are debts of GBP 21 million.

Bidders are attracted by the fact that the club is financially viable but undervalued with the potential to obtain much higher revenue.

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.