Sports lawyer sees little hope of a relegation reprieve for Bristol RoversBy The Bristol Post | Posted: May 29, 2014
A LEADING sports lawyer believes any legal bid Bristol Rovers embark on to seek reinstatement to the Football League is likely to end in failure.
Relegated Rovers have lodged a complaint with both the Football Association and the Football League claiming Wycombe Wanderers, who only survived due to a superior goal difference, wrongfully gained a competitive advantage by breaching rules pertaining to transfer dealings and third party ownership of players.
Rovers claim Wycombe should have been subjected to a points deduction for their breach of the rules involving the sale of Matt Phillips to Blackpool in 2010, and have also suggested the winger, who now plays for QPR, may not have been the only player at the club with a contract containing outlawed third party ownership arrangements.
Leading London-based sports lawyer John Mehrzad, pictured, believes Rovers' claim that the Phillips' transfer in 2010 offered Wycombe a competitive advantage last season is "speculative" and unlikely to result in a points deduction as punishment.
Mr Mehrzad said: "Rovers are claiming that if these rule breaches had been discovered and investigated earlier then a points deduction would have been the expected punishment.
"The big issue for me and what I have some real difficulty with is how causation can be proved. Wycombe have admitted to breaching the rules, but the issue is how Bristol Rovers are going to argue that it put them at a disadvantage last season.
"I'd say the most likely outcome from here is that Rovers will look into taking their case to the High Court in a bid to make a claim for significant damages."
Mr Mehrzad, who heads up the Littleton Sports Group and has represented a host of Premier League and Football League clubs and players in the past, cites similarities with the case involving Sheffield United and West Ham United in what was labelled the 'Carlos Tevez affair' in 2007.
West Ham were fined £5.5 million by the FA for breaching transfer and third party ownership rules and then ordered to pay relegated Sheffield United in the region of £20 million after an independent action was pursued.
"The Tevez situation is a lot clearer-cut because it was pretty easy for Sheffield United to prove causation," said Mr Mehrzad.
"Tevez played a lot of games for West Ham during that season and scored the goal that kept them up on the final day. Even then a fine was handed down as a punishment rather than a points deduction.
"There are more complicating issues in this case and my opinion is that Wycombe could be fined by the FA again and then Bristol Rovers will probably look at a High Court action in a bid to recoup some of their lost revenue."
Rovers are likely to be out of pocket to the tune of around £1 million as a result of relegation to the Conference, and Mr Mehrzad added: "If some of those losses could be recouped through compensation it could be really significant in helping Bristol Rovers in their bid to return to the Football League very quickly.
"Going to the High Court can be a costly process in that it can often run in to hundreds of thousands of pounds, but if Rovers were to win the case then Wycombe would have to cover those costs.
"I think they would certainly have a fair chance of winning if they take that particular course of action, but it would take a number of months and I would also be surprised if the case would go all the way to a hearing.
"It does seem like there has been a breach of the rules, so the likelihood is that there would be a settlement made out of court, as is often the way with a lot of these sorts of cases."
Rovers requested a response to the allegations they made in their letter to all three parties by no later than 5pm last night.
The club have yet to confirm that a response from any of the parties has been forthcoming.
"I can imagine that the Football Association will want to expedite this whole situation and find some sort of resolution as quickly as possible," said Mr Mehrzad.
"The fixtures for next season are scheduled to be published in a few weeks and that would have to be put on hold if Bristol Rovers were to seek an interim injunction to delay the official confirmation of their relegation."
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www.bristolpost.co.uk/Sports-lawyer-sees-little-hope-relegation/story-21156845-detail/story.html 
