Fifa joins Tevez probe
Sepp Blatter has said Fifa will be monitoring the West Ham case
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Tuesday, 15, May 2007 02:33
Fifa president Sepp Blatter has announced that world football's governing body is to look into the row over whether West Ham should have been docked points for transfer irregularities.
The Hammers escaped relegation from the Premiership on the last day of the season with a 1-0 win over Manchester United, condemning Sheffield United to the drop instead.
But the east London side's survival has prompted other clubs to consider legal action over the Premier League's decision to fine them £5.5 million for breaching league rules over the arrival of Argentine duo Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano last summer.
They claim that West Ham should have been docked points - as AFC Wimbledon were in similar circumstances earlier this season - meaning the club would have been relegated.
And today Blatter has confirmed that Fifa will "look at this" regardless of whether it is asked to or not.
"We will ask for the file once it has been decided how and why the decision was made," he told reporters.
"If we feel something was wrong in this decision then we have to open our file."
Although Blatter said that Fifa's documents on the transfer of the players from Brazil's Corinthians suggested West Ham complied with its rules, he emphasised that he "will monitor this situation very carefully".
He added that Fifa has the ultimate power in cases such as this, citing a recent judgment by the Swiss federal court rejecting claims by Spanish side Rayo Vallencano that Fifa did not have the power to relegate the club over non-payment of transfer fees.
"Fifa and its associations have the right and the power to use all 14 sanctions of the disciplinary code starting with a warning and ending with exclusion of a member via relegation and deduction of points," Blatter said of the implications of the court ruling.