And Now the Good News

According to the Daily Telegraph the Court of Arbitration for Sport has not automatically turned down West Ham's appeal. It had been widely reported that CAS would immediately rule that it could not arbitrate without the consent of both parties and that Sheffield United would not agree.

Apparently CAS have asked Sheffield United to consent to its jurisdiction or provide written reasons against it by Friday. This, of course, does not mean that CAS won't accept McCabe's sudden dropping of the sword of justice when he doesn't give his consent.

However, West Ham are said to be encouraged by this as CAS has, in other cases, immediately ruled out its power to adjudicate and it seems to put the onus on Sheffield United to convince CAS that arbitration isn't needed.