QPR are prepared to wreck the Championship play-offs – as they are facing the threat of a 15-POINT deduction.
Rangers fear their automatic ticket to the Premier League – and a £90million windfall – will be ripped up when an independent commission rules on their controversial Alejandro Faurlin signing.
But People Sport can reveal that the Hoops will appeal against any deduction – sparking the biggest legal wrangle ever in English football.
The decision is due on the eve of the final match of the Championship season, on May 6 – but Rangers would have 14 DAYS to appeal.
It would throw the play-offs into chaos, with the semi-finals due to start on May 12.
If Neil Warnock’s team lose 10 or 15 points – which FA insiders reckon is probable – it will spark mayhem.
But if they are not penalised by a points deduction, the third-placed club could begin legal action for losing out on promotion and a £90m jackpot to a team that allegedly broke the rules.
QPR – who deny the charges, but hope to escape with a massive fine – are prepared to go all the way to get any points restored.
If a large points deduction were imposed, the Londoners would drop out of the top two and the third-placed club would head for an automatic promotion place.
But the play-offs, including the Wembley final, would become pointless as the legal battle rages on.
The only thing QPR and the FA agree on is that an appeal would make the play-offs meaningless.
And Wembley chiefs are in a panic about the verdict and its overall implications – holding several fraught meetings over recent days.
Faurlin has played 39 games this season and been a key part of the club’s success since his move from Argentinian side Instituto de Cordoba.
But Rangers face seven charges relating to Faurlin – the four most serious over an allegation he was owned by a third party – an arrangement outlawed after West Ham’s Carlos Tevez affair in 2007.
The FA want to know where the Faurlin fee ended up, and are looking into the player’s paper trail.
However, the investigation – which began eight months ago – is painfully slow and causing problems.
Rangers met the commission chief recently and astonishingly new questions were raised which have yet to be answered.
So the three-day hearing, starting a week on Wednesday, has an uphill task to make one of the biggest rulings ever.
A leading official said last night: “There is potential madness ahead. Nobody knows, at any level, what the procedure is after that.
“The play-offs begin a week later and nobody would know who was playing who.
“Clubs, fans and organisers would not know when the games were on and how long the process would take.”
There seems to be no room for negotiating the size of the penalty. And there is no precedent for the case which is causing turmoil at FA HQ.
Comparisons have been made to the Tevez saga, but the Premier League took charge of that affair and controversially let off West Ham with a heavy fine and NO points deduction.
Sheffield United – ironically managed by Warnock at the time – went on to win a separate court action and collected millions in compensation from the Irons after being relegated.
QPR’s case would give the team that finishes third similar grounds for legal action.
as a Reading fan..
trolololol. get into 3rd!
Rangers fear their automatic ticket to the Premier League – and a £90million windfall – will be ripped up when an independent commission rules on their controversial Alejandro Faurlin signing.
But People Sport can reveal that the Hoops will appeal against any deduction – sparking the biggest legal wrangle ever in English football.
The decision is due on the eve of the final match of the Championship season, on May 6 – but Rangers would have 14 DAYS to appeal.
It would throw the play-offs into chaos, with the semi-finals due to start on May 12.
If Neil Warnock’s team lose 10 or 15 points – which FA insiders reckon is probable – it will spark mayhem.
But if they are not penalised by a points deduction, the third-placed club could begin legal action for losing out on promotion and a £90m jackpot to a team that allegedly broke the rules.
QPR – who deny the charges, but hope to escape with a massive fine – are prepared to go all the way to get any points restored.
If a large points deduction were imposed, the Londoners would drop out of the top two and the third-placed club would head for an automatic promotion place.
But the play-offs, including the Wembley final, would become pointless as the legal battle rages on.
The only thing QPR and the FA agree on is that an appeal would make the play-offs meaningless.
And Wembley chiefs are in a panic about the verdict and its overall implications – holding several fraught meetings over recent days.
Faurlin has played 39 games this season and been a key part of the club’s success since his move from Argentinian side Instituto de Cordoba.
But Rangers face seven charges relating to Faurlin – the four most serious over an allegation he was owned by a third party – an arrangement outlawed after West Ham’s Carlos Tevez affair in 2007.
The FA want to know where the Faurlin fee ended up, and are looking into the player’s paper trail.
However, the investigation – which began eight months ago – is painfully slow and causing problems.
Rangers met the commission chief recently and astonishingly new questions were raised which have yet to be answered.
So the three-day hearing, starting a week on Wednesday, has an uphill task to make one of the biggest rulings ever.
A leading official said last night: “There is potential madness ahead. Nobody knows, at any level, what the procedure is after that.
“The play-offs begin a week later and nobody would know who was playing who.
“Clubs, fans and organisers would not know when the games were on and how long the process would take.”
There seems to be no room for negotiating the size of the penalty. And there is no precedent for the case which is causing turmoil at FA HQ.
Comparisons have been made to the Tevez saga, but the Premier League took charge of that affair and controversially let off West Ham with a heavy fine and NO points deduction.
Sheffield United – ironically managed by Warnock at the time – went on to win a separate court action and collected millions in compensation from the Irons after being relegated.
QPR’s case would give the team that finishes third similar grounds for legal action.
as a Reading fan..
trolololol. get into 3rd!