Once more unto the breach

Sheffield United has brought another case against West Ham, this time seeking monetary damages of up to £50 million. Sheffield United alleges that West Ham's current ownership misrepresented their "clean hands" before the Premier League panel that reviewed the Carlos Tévez case. The Yorkshire club also contend that West Ham's actions regarding Tévez's transfer to Manchester United this summer prove that he should have been ineligible for the final three games of the season. The Telegraph estimates that the new three-member panel could take up to six months to rule on Sheffield United's claim.

In a statement, West Ham said Sheffield United's claim lacks "legal merit" and is based on a mistaken belief that West Ham withheld documents from the Premier League, in particular the amended third-party agreement that West Ham presented to Kia Joorabchian in December. West Ham contends that that agreement was never executed, and it was submitted to the league panel. The club also warned that it "will not permit these repeated slurs to go unchallenged" and are considering legal action. The Times quoted a legal expert who backs West Ham's position on the new challenge:

Peter Coyle, an expert in sports litigation, who is a partner at Coyle White Devine, the legal firm, said that Sheffield United do not have a case. “I think they are on a hiding to nothing,” he said. “Sheffield didn’t beat Wigan on the last day. That is a bigger reason for their relegation than Tévez and West Ham.”

I don't have much more to add. As I've said in the past, West Ham can rip up, or breach, the contract, but they never bought Tévez in the first place. A columnist in the Telegraph a few weeks ago wondered if he could just rent a car and decide not to turn it in. Wouldn't that be a great way to obtain a car? He reasoned that he would be sued. Right. West Ham claimed to own Tévez, but they were sued. They breached, and they settled. What is so hard to understand about this? I guess that's easy for me to say. It's not millions of pounds of my money.

Added 18:30/8/17/07: The Times also published this submission from another lawyer with a sports law background, and he, too, is very doubtful about Sheffield United's case.