Tottenham’s replay request rejected

TOTTENHAM’s request to the Premier League to have their game against West Ham replayed has been rejected.

Spurs originally wanted the game postponed with a number of their players suffering from food poisoning, however, the contest went ahead as scheduled.

Defeat at Upton Park coupled with Arsenal’s win over Wigan meant Spurs missed out on fourth spot in The Premiership and a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.

With so much riding on last Sunday’s final game of the Premiership season, the club appealed to the Premier League to allow them to replay the match.

However, the appeal has been rejected with the Premier League stating there are ‘no grounds’ for the game to be replayed, although they have confirmed that Martin Jol’s side could have opted out of Sunday’s fixture.

If the White Hart Lane outfit had not played, an independent commission would have decided their fate, although given that Middlesbrough were docked points for not fulfilling a fixture back in 1997, it would appear Spurs made the right decision in showing up.

“Tottenham Hotspur Football Club did have the option of not fulfilling the fixture and will have made its own assessment of the risks associated with that decision,” read a statement.

“It would have been for an independent commission to have decided the merits of your case; rule on any sanction and/or the appropriateness of a replay.

“The board does not wish to jeopardise the respect and excellent relationship that exists between us and THFC.

“We remain very sympathetic to the unenviable position you found yourselves in and hope that neither THFC or any other club will suffer the same fate again.

“However, we believe we expedited our responsibilities effectively and with due care and consideration based on the facts available to us.

“We of course realise that for THFC a feeling of unfairness at the ill-fated events of last Sunday will linger, but trust that you will put this behind you and concentrate on domestic and UEFA Cup success next season.”

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy refused to make any extended comment after the hearing, although he did hint they would continue their protest.

“I don’t want to make any comment, but the Premier League will be sending around a letter and we’ll then be meeting with our board to decide what our next course of action is,” Levy said.