Rejoice, West Ham supporters, as He has finally smiled upon you.
Concluding an investigation into the incredibly dodgy and illegal transfers of Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez, West Ham were fined 5.5 million by a Premier League investigative panel but spared any points deducation – meaning they can relegate themselves from the Premiership fair and square.
The problem was the whole “West Ham don’t own the players” business, and the fact that the club did not disclose full information of the transfer to the league. Once alerted to the possibility of misconduct a mere few days ago, it lead to a quick and decisive investigation from the powers that be.
Wait… that’s not right.
Didn’t everyone suspect this virtually as soon as the deal was announced at the start of the season? Didn’t red flags go up when the club announced to the world that they would not be disclosing the details of the transfer? Weren’t there endless articles spouting theories and raising suspicions of misconduct?
Can’t have been. Because that would mean that the people at the league are complete numptey’s who, for some inexplicable reason almost certainly tied to their own personal gain, waited until the end of the season to charge West Ham.