Legal action pondered over West Ham's verdict

Four English Premier League clubs close to relegation – Charlton, Fulham, Sheffield United and Wigan – have said they are "in the process of obtaining legal advice" after West Ham got off with no points deduction for its role in illicit transfers.

Executives from the four clubs met to discuss matter. West Ham was fined a record GBP 5.5 million but did not get hit with a points penalty, which would have damaged its hopes of staying in the Premier League.

"You should understand we are separately in the process of obtaining legal advice arising out of the terms of the decision," read a statement from the four clubs to the Premier League. "You can expect to hear from us in relation to this in the early part of next week."

Wigan and Sheffield United indicated legal action would be coming not only against the league, but West Ham as well.

But the league doesn't seem to be too concerned over the matter. An independent panel oversaw the case and punishment. The panel found the signings of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, whose contracts were part-owned by Kia Joorabchian, were violations by West Ham of rule U18, which does not allow clubs to enter into agreements with third parties that might influence their decisions.

A points deduction is not an automatic result of violating U18, as the severity of a penalty is left to the discretion of the disciplinary panel. West Ham is confident it will not faces legal challenges, arguing that, as the guilty party in the case, it cannot be held responsible for the tribunal's failure to deduct points.

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