Duxbury has been accused of providing verbal reassurances to Graham Shear, Kia Joorabchian's solicitor, suggesting that the club would honour the third party agreement which was supposedly terminated so that the Argentine could continue playing.The tribunal believes that the league would have suspended Tevez's registration as a West Ham player had they been aware of the conversations between Duxbury and Shear.
The league are well aware of the potential ramifications of the allegation, notably that, if substantiated, West Ham could stand accused of misleading them even after being fined £5.5 million for rule breaches by an independent disciplinary commission.
The Premier League expect to receive the tribunal's findings within the next 48 hours and will decide whether to take further action against Duxbury – or indeed West Ham – once they have digested the findings.
Having facilitated the independent arbitration panel, the Football Association are largely remaining out of the latest twist in the Tevez saga, arguing that it is for Lord Griffiths, the chairman of the tribunal, to decide if and when the judgment is publicly released.
West Ham are already fighting the case on two fronts, with the club set to appeal the tribunal's ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, while also contesting the level of the £30.4 million compensation claim that Sheffield United are requesting.
They would surely also contest any further action against either themselves or Duxbury by the Premier League.
West Ham accept that they unilaterally terminated the third party agreements and that they had conversations with Joorabchian and Shear.
However, they would argue that it was always resolved to settle the matter at the end of the season – and probably out of court – which eventually happened when Joorabchian paid West Ham £2 million to release Tevez's registration and so eventually ensure his move to Manchester United.
West Ham have insisted that Duxbury’s position is not under review.
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