FA twist to Tevez wrangle

Five days of intense talks involving lawyers have failed to secure Tevez's move to Old Trafford. And United, West Ham and Joorabchian's company MSI, who own Tevez, are now discussing the idea of writing to FA chief executive Brian Barwick to claim they have lost faith in the Premier League to act on the matter.

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In a dramatic day of developments yesterday, the Premier League rejected written requests from Tevez and Joorabchian to cancel the player's registration with West Ham.

Hammers to say he was terminating his contract at Upton Park, even though it still has three years to run — a move which is sure to interest the world governing body FIFA.

United and Joorabchian's MSI have verbally struck a deal to move the striker to Old Trafford on a two-year loan, followed by an option to buy permanently.

But this can only proceed if West Ham admit they are entitled to no compensation for the transfer of Tevez's Premier League registration to United.

However, if the Hammers do this, they will prove that the third-party influence, which broke Premier League rule U18 and incurred a record £5.5m fine, is still in place, even though they promised to terminate the agreement unilaterally after receiving the fine on April 27.

This was why Upton Park chairman Eggert Magnusson issued a statement last week reiterating the fact that Tevez was under contract at West Ham until 2010.

Instead, the Hammers are expected to take Joorabchian to court to contest the ownership of Tevez's registration.

Earlier this month, Magnusson said: "There is no agreement for Carlos Tevez to leave the club and we expect him to return in time for next season's preparations.

"No decision on his future can be reached without the agreement of West Ham."

The prospect of a High Court battle between Joorabchian and West Ham, together with FIFA's involvement to examine Tevez's right to terminate his own contract, could mean a long drawn-out affair.

A player is not allowed to terminate his own contract without "just sporting cause", which does not include a desire to join a different club.

United are understandably frustrated by the stalemate. They want the player quickly and will back the idea of turning the FA to act as arbitrators, even though this is totally without precedent.

A United spokesperson said last night: "We want Tevez to come here and the player wants to come here. We all just want a quick and easy solution so that the deal can be concluded."

The FA's power is limited, however, and may not offer a speedy resolution, not least because Barwick is on holiday.

The FA do not interfere in transfers between clubs from the same league and this complaint could also end up in the hands of FIFA or the Court of Arbitration for Sport if allowed to follow its natural course.