West Ham have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against Sheffield United over the Carlos Tevez affair. The Hammers were ordered to pay compensation to the Blades by a Football Association arbitration panel last month.

CAS have now opened proceedings to determine if they can hear West Ham's appeal against the ruling which could cost the club millions.

A statement read: "The CAS has initiated an arbitration procedure and will first examine its jurisdiction as a preliminary issue after both clubs have had the opportunity to file written submissions on this point.

"For the moment, no decision has been made with respect to the holding of a hearing. In any event, a decision on jurisdiction is not to be expected before the end of November 2008."

The Hammers were handed a £5.5m fine by the Premier League but there was no points deduction, and Tevez played an instrumental role in keeping West Ham in the top flight as Sheffield United went down.