10 Biggest Premier League Controversies
4. Carlos Tevez, Third-Party Owners And Relegation Drama
The Background:
Despite being linked with several top European clubs, Argentina internationals Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano shocked everyone when instead leaving Brazil's Corinthians for Premier League strugglers West Ham in the summer of 2006.
Media Sport Investment, the London-based investment fund founded to control Corinthians, had also been involved in negotiations to acquire West Ham. MSI founder Kia Joorabchian brokered the Tevez-Mascherano transfer and a day later entered "exploratory discussions" over heading up a consortium to buy the club.
The Controversy:
The Hammers are accused of breaking Premier League rules against third-party ownership of players when it is revealed that MSI and several other businesses involving Joorabchian own the economic rights to Tevez and Mascherano, not their club.
Full details of the transfers are not passed onto the FA until January 2007, after Joorabchian's consortium fails to buy West Ham and new owners take over instead.
By now Mascherano - who barely featured at Upton Park - has moved on to Liverpool, but Tevez has become a vital part of West Ham's relegation fight. On the final day of the season, with West Ham needing to beat Manchester United to survive, Tevez scores the winning goal in a 1-0 win, sending Sheffield United down.
The Blades complain that they should not be condemned to relegation by an illegally acquired player.
The Aftermath:
The FA issue their biggest ever fine of £5.5 million to West Ham, but crucially do not exercise the option to deduct the Hammers any points.
Sheffield United threaten legal action, demanding £45 million in compensation (the amount that they claim relegation from the lucrative Premier League will cost them). West Ham eventually settle out of court for the significantly smaller amount of £20 million.
Having proved himself in the Premier League, Tevez moves to Man United, but not before the ongoing issue of third-party ownership leads West Ham to reject the transfer unless they receive the whole fee themselves. Joorabchian resolves the issue by giving West Ham £2 million from his own pocket.