Frustration mounts as Leeds verdict is delayed

There could be another long delay for all parties awaiting the English Leeds arbitration decision.

Phillip Otton and his panel announced they will wait as long as 1 May for the final decision to be announced. The panel is reviewing a 15-point penalty assessed against the club by the Football League for not having a CVA in place when it emerged from administration.

Leeds agreed to the penalty and signed away its right to appeal. But chairman Ken Bates said it was forced to do so.

That delay has angered those most affected — the clubs wondering if they will be in the mix for promotion, or fall behind Leeds if the penalty is reversed.

"Either Leeds have a case or not and I wouldn't have thought it was beyond the wit of an independent tribunal to make a decision after three days," Dick Knight, chairman of Brighton, Hove and Albion, told the Guardian. "It's fine to try to make a judgment but when it makes a nonsense of the competition itself then you need a review of how arbitrations are made.

"At the very beginning the tribunal should have resolved to make a decision before this round of fixtures. This means the administrative tail is wagging the dog."

Other clubs are known to have made consultations on whether to pursue legal action.

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