Involvement of FIFA may boost Blades
By Ian Appleyard
SHEFFIELD United will monitor the FIFA investigation into the 'ownership' of Carlos Tevez in the knowledge that it could yet re-open a door to Premiership football next season.
The Argentinian striker's proposed £30m move to champions Manchester United has been delayed by a dispute between West Ham United and his advisor Kia Joorabchian.
All parties agree that FIFA should now end the deadlock and decide who owns the player – the Hammers or Joorabchian.
Significantly, the Hammers were only allowed to keep playing Tevez last season after convincing the Premier League that all third-party clauses in the player's contract had been severed.
Should it emerge that Joorabchian is still involved, the Blades will demand that the Hammers are docked points – a move that could lift the Blades out of the relegation zone.
The alternative would be a £50m compensation case – based on the amount of money the Blades have lost as a result of relegation to the Championship.
Manchester United remain confident that Tevez, who scored an all-important winner for the Hammers at Old Trafford on the final day of the season, will become their player but the FIFA hearing could take place just one week before the start of the new season.
After scrapping plans for Tevez to have a medical, United chief executive David Gill said: "There has been a lot of discussions over the last few days between Manchester United, West Ham and the Premier League but the case will probably go before FIFA's dispute resolution chamber.
"We are very confident this will be resolved in favour of the player and he will be free to achieve his wish of joining Manchester United."
West Ham confirmed that they have written to the Premier League requesting the matter be referred to FIFA.
United legal expert Maurice Watkins met with West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson in London on Tuesday, yet despite feeling reasonably optimistic a solution could be negotiated, there was only deadlock.
Although Old Trafford officials want to push the matter through as quickly as possible, there remains the possibility that Tevez, who has now been allowed to start a short holiday, might not be signed before the August 31 transfer deadline.
While FIFA will examine all the documentation before deciding whether they have any jurisdiction over the case, it seems certain the Premier League – as well as West Ham – would be happy to abide by any decision.
Should FIFA decide that that are unable to resolve the issue, the next port of call would be the Court of Arbitration for Sport .
Mick McGuire, deputy chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association, often represents players in disputes that go before FIFA's dispute resolution committee (DRC)
McGuire said: "It could drag on. But FIFA make the regulations on transfer windows and know the time frames – you would hope they take that into account. You can take it to the next stage, to CAS, and that would be the final appeal stage."
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has previously highlighted the problems of players being owned by companies or individuals.
"It's trafficking in people, which is never good," said Taylor. "Once you get an individual or a company – not a football club – owning a player, you will get
trouble.
"From a PFA point of view, you can't have players owned by individuals rather than clubs because it will make a mockery of the transfer system. If you have a situation where that is the case then it will lead to nothing but trouble."
