Filed under: West Ham, QPR, Cardiff, Norwich, Championship, Premier League, Football
On Monday, Queens Park Rangers supporters gathered on the Loftus Road pitch ready to celebrate promotion to the Premier League only to be informed that Norwich had scored a 96th-minute equaliser and therefore they would have to wait.Of course, the fact that they had only drawn their own match with Hull City was another reason for the delay and now a side that has been at the top all season is starting to regret the dropping of points here and there.
For it is looking increasingly likely that Rangers will be punished with a points deduction for breaking rules on third-party ownership when they signed Alejandro Faurlin from an Argentinian club two years ago. It could be as many as 15 in fact, which would push them into the play-offs and, almost certainly, see Norwich and Cardiff promoted automatically instead.
As well as prompt the mother of all legal battles - which could even delay the play-offs themselves.
Rangers supporters have been hoping their club, which is owned by some of the richest men on the globe, would be hit only by a financial penalty, as West Ham were for the signing of Carlos Tevez, the scorer of a season-saving winner at Old Trafford on the final day of the 2006-07 season, when he was owned by a third party.
That relegated Sheffield United, who eventually also won millions in compensation and were managed by Neil Warnock, the current QPR manager, who inherited Faurlin as part of a squad that was going nowhere a little over a year ago.
The hearing into the Faurlin signing is to begin on Tuesday, when a four-man panel comprising an independent barrister, two members of the Football Associations's disciplinary panel and a 'football expert', who will be either a former player or coach.
And the early indications are that Rangers will not be able to hide behind the Tevez precedent, as then there were no set rules about third-party ownership. West ham had been guilty of failing to disclose the arrangement and regulations were drawn up subsequently so all clubs would know where they stood.
A report in The Sun quotes an 'FA source' who says "There's no question QPR have broken the rules. They know it as well. The only debate is what to do about it. If they aren't found guilty you might as well scrap the rules about third-party owners."
Rangers are currently five points clear at the top of the Championship table - and there aren't enough left to make it to the 15 needed to make sure they stay there.
It's about to get very messy.
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/04/29/qpr-face-potential-doomsday-scenario-when-fa-meet-next-week/
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