West Ham have confirmed they will appeal against a tribunal's ruling on the Carlos Tevez affair to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, claiming the club has already been punished for breaching Premier League rules over the signing of the Argentina striker in 2006.

West Ham said in a statement on their official website: "We can confirm today that our lawyers are drafting a statement of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland in relation to the case involving the club and Sheffield United.

"While we respect the judgment of the FA arbitration panel, we do not accept that one player's contribution can be placed over that of the team as a whole nor used as the basis for judging the results of a 38-game season.

"This ruling undermines the significant efforts of our entire playing squad and coaching staff over the duration of the 2006-07 Premier League season and
does not take sufficient account of the performances of the other 19 clubs in the competition.

"We acknowledge again that the club broke Premier League rules in the original signing of Carlos Tevez but we were dealt with accordingly by an independent Premier League commission and accepted the significant punishment handed down at that time.

"In light of this and the wider implications of this latest ruling for English football we have decided to ask that the case be considered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport."

If the appeal is unsuccesful the consequences of the tribunal's ruling could be severe.

Sheffield United, who were relegated on the final day of the 2006-'07 season, have demanded more than €38m in compensation after the judgment found Tevez was worth at least three points to West Ham.