Sheffield United on Monday sought to overturn its demotion from the Premier League, citing relegation rival West Ham's illegal signing of Argentina stars Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
West Ham was fined ?5.5 million (US$10.8 million) in April by an independent panel for breaking Premier League rules by signing Tevez and Mascherano on third-party contracts in August last year. However, the panel stopped short of docking points from West Ham.
Sheffield United pressed its case against the Premier League at a two-day arbitration hearing that opened on Monday.
Arbitration
"It's been a busy day," Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe said at the close of the day's session. "Tomorrow there will be further evidence and then the panel will opine and decide. The arbitration is going well and I think the panel recognize all the points of the case."
Sheffield United wants the three-man panel to decide if the original decision to only fine the club was "legally flawed" and, if so, for a disciplinary commission to hear the case.
Sheffield United also wants the panel to rule on whether the Premier League acted unlawfully by not stripping Tevez of his league registration. Fulham, which successfully avoided relegation, is backing Sheffield United on the second point.
"The arbitral panel have no power to decide what the penalty to be imposed upon West Ham should be," the arbitration panel said in a statement. "This will be within the exclusive remit of the disciplinary commission, if one is convened as a result of the arbitral panel's decision."
West Ham said it correctly changed Tevez's contract in April. Mascherano was sold to Liverpool in January on a Premier League-approved contract.
Although West Ham accepted the fine and acknowledged that it broke the rules, Tevez continued to play and his goals helped the London side avoid relegation.
Sheffield United dropped down instead to the League Championship, and the Blades insist West Ham should have been docked points as well as fined.
The fixtures have already been released for the 2007-2008 season, with West Ham in the Premier League and Sheffield United in the League Championship.
McCabe said relegation would cost Sheffield United ?50 million, but stressed its appeal was based on principle.
"It's not so much the money, it's the fact that one club that has not breached the rules has been relegated whilst another club that has breached the rules has retained its Premiership status and that's the key argument," McCabe said.
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen on Thursday said that he is staying with the Red Bull team next year, ending months of speculation over his future. “Some people just like to stir the pot, some people just like to create drama, but, for me, it’s always been quite clear, and also for next year,” the four-time champion said ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. “I’m discussing with the team already the plans — the things that we want to change for next year, so that means that I’m also staying with the team for next year,” he said. Verstappen has a contract with
RSS