West Ham Should Have Lost Points, Says Panel

The chairman of the panel which yesterday confirmed Sheffield United's relegation suggested he would have docked points that might have sent West Ham into the Championship had he led the tribunal which ruled on the illegal registration of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.

That was the astonishing verdict of Sir Philip Otton's panel when it delivered its findings on the arbitration proceedings brought by Sheffield United. But the judgment came as no comfort to the Yorkshire club because the former Lord Justice of Appeal's panel also found it could not overturn the decision of an independent disciplinary panel to fine the Hammers £5.5m and not deduct points.

"We can see the force of [Sheffield's] attack and we have much sympathy for [their] grievances arising from the decision and the manner it was arrived at," said the arbitration panel's judgment. "We would, for example, have given much more weight to the deliberate deceit by West Ham officials which concealed the existence of the third-party arrangements."

That refers to the "grave breach of trust" of which the original panel, led by Simon Bourne-Arton QC, found the Hammers guilty. Bourne-Arton's verdict stated that Paul Aldridge, then chief executive at Upton Park, had told a "direct lie" when asked if there were documents relating to the Argentinians' transfers other than those volunteered by the club.

But Otton's panellists could not force a reprise of the hearing. "The [Otton] tribunal has to test the [Bourne-Arton] decision on the basis of whether it was irrational or perverse when it was reached," added the judgment. "This is a very strict test and is very difficult to satisfy on a question very much of judgment and discretion ... and we are not able to substitute our view for that of the commission."

Sheffield United, who are exploring their legal options, said they were "disappointed" that "the tribunal decided not to overturn the disciplinary commission's decision despite concluding that they would, in all probability, have deducted points from West Ham".