Premier League investigates Robert Snodgrass omission from West Ham match
West Ham and West Brom may have breached league rules with 'agreement'
The Premier League is currently investigating whether an agreement between West Ham and West Brom over Robert Snodgrass’ transfer — which resulted in the midfielder being excluded from Tuesday night’s match between the teams — has broken any competition rules.
West Brom manager Sam Allardyce found himself in hot water as he revealed sketchy details of theent Snodgrass transfer, during a pre-match interview on Tuesday night (January 19).
“[We agreed] this game he wouldn’t be allowed to play. If we needed to get the player, which we did, we had to agree to that,” said Allardyce.
Allardyce further explained that the midfielder’s omission from the squad was due to “an agreement between the clubs”.
The match ended with a 2-1 result in favour of West Ham.
It seems whatever agreement took place behind closed doors may have breached Premier League rules.
As per EPL regulations, “No club shall enter into a contract which enables another party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches."
Snodgrass moved West Brom on January 8 on an 18-month deal. Even though he was set to become a free transfer at the end of the season, West Brom snatched the midfielder up for a small free at the top of 2021.
Both clubs must now provide further information to the Premier League before a final ruling is made.