Carlos Tévez will play against Bolton Wanderers in the vital Barclays Premiership relegation battle today, despite West Ham United not having signed a new agreement for the Argentinian’s services.

The club were handed a record fine of £5.5 million eight days ago in part because the contract with the players’ agent was in breach of FA Premier League rules. But The Times understands that that agreement remains in place.

Kia Joorabchian, who owns the rights to the forward, has not agreed to terminate the contract, meaning that the club could still be in breach of Premier League rules. West Ham had been instructed to cancel or amend the contract because the agreement with Joorabchian potentially allowed him to affect club policy.

West Ham told the Premier League that they had “unilaterally” cancelled their contract in a letter to Joorabchian, who has taken legal advice after talks with the club yesterday. The Premier League has accepted West Ham’s version of events, without contacting Joorabchian, and has given permission for Tévez to play for the rest of the season.

It is believed that Joorabchian may have given his permission to play the forward today, but the club will probably have to pay the businessman significant compensation to avoid a court case.

“West Ham can’t just tear up a contract more than anyone else can. It is legally binding on both sides,” a source close to Joorabchian said last night. “The position has been forced upon him by the Premier League ruling, even though he has done nothing wrong.” A West Ham spokesman said: “The third-party agreement has been terminated in line with the Premier League inquiry.”

West Ham may hope that the argument drags out until past the end of the season next weekend. The confusion over Tévez’s situation will further anger the four clubs around them in the fight for Premiership survival.

Dave Whelan, the Wigan Athletic chairman, set the ball rolling by lambasting the decision of the Premier League’s independent commission to fine West Ham but not deduct points. He claimed that other clubs were also taking legal advice, after which they would be in a better position to decide “whether it is possible to sue West Ham or the Premier League or both”.

However, Middlesbrough were not keen to be implicated in the possible legal action, questioning whether it could be successful. Steve Gibson, the Middlesbrough chairman, spoke to Sir David Richards, his Premier League counterpart, about the matter but distanced himself from Whelan’s plans.

Middlesbrough were docked three points – and relegated as a result – ten years ago after failing to fulfil a fixture because of injuries and illness to 16 players. Although Gibson would privately shed no tears if West Ham are relegated, he will remind Whelan today, when Wigan play Middlesbrough at the JJB Stadium, that his club do not wish to be involved in any group action.

Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United plc chairman, was not so reticent. “There was no hanging around, no grass growing around our feet,” he said yesterday. “We have some excellent and reputable lawyers who have already been looking at this for a week. We felt this needed to be done.”

Representatives of the “Gang of Four” – Wigan, Sheffield United, Fulham and Charlton Athletic – met at Harrods, the store owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, in Central London, yesterday to discuss the situation.

It is those clubs who could be directly affected by relegation if West Ham manage to survive. In the absence of Whelan, Brenda Spencer, the Wigan chief executive, attended.

While not expected to instigate proceedings against the Premier League and/or West Ham yet, the group is believed to have discussed its best course of action should West Ham escape the drop. The club who went down would seek legal redress with the support of the other three.

The Premier League is perplexed that the clubs should threaten to sue their governing body when it was an independent commission that made the judgment on West Ham.

Carlos Tévez will play against Bolton Wanderers in a vital Barclays Premiership relegation battle at Upton Park today, despite West Ham United not having signed a new agreement for his services.

The club were handed a record fine of £5.5 million eight days ago in part because their contract with the agent of the Argentina forward was in breach of FA Premier League (FAPL) rules. But The Times understands that the agreement remains in place.

Four of West Ham’s relegation rivals — Charlton Athletic, Fulham, Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic — last night threatened legal action against the Premier League unless the confusion over Tévez is resolved immediately. In a joint statement, the clubs said: “You can expect to hear from us in relation to this in the early part of next week.”

West Ham had been instructed by the Premier League to cancel or amend their contract with Kia Joorabchian, who owns the rights to Tévez, because the agreement potentially allowed him to affect club policy, contrary to its rules. The League says it is satisfied that West Ham have “unilaterally” cancelled the contract in a letter to Joorabchian and that Tévez can continue playing this season because his registration lies with the club.

However, Joorabchian has not agreed to terminate the contract and has taken legal advice after talks with West Ham yesterday. The club will probably have to pay Joorabchian significant compensation to avoid a court case.

“West Ham can’t just tear up a contract more than anyone else can. It is legally binding on both sides,” a source close to Joorabchian said last night. “The position has been forced upon him by the Premier League ruling, even though he has done nothing wrong.”

West Ham may hope that the argument can be dragged out until past the end of the season next weekend. “The third-party agreement has been terminated in line with the Premier League inquiry,” a club spokesman said. Yet the tangle over Tévez’s contract has further angered the clubs — the “Gang of Four” — involved with them in the fight for Premiership survival.

Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, had set the ball rolling by lambasting the decision of the Premier League’s independent commission to fine West Ham but not deduct points. Yesterday, after a three-hour meeting at Harrods, the store owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, the Fulham chairman, in central London, the clubs made their displeasure known.

“Given the potential significance to our clubs of any further serious breach of FAPL rules by West Ham at this point in time, not to investigate immediately would be a breach by the League of their obligation of utmost good faith to us under FAPL rule B13,” the clubs said in a statement. “In the light of the above, it is incumbent upon the board to investigate this matter.”

Middlesbrough, initially linked to the “Gang of Four”, were not keen to be implicated in possible legal action, questioning whether it could be successful. Steve Gibson, the Middlesbrough chairman, spoke to Sir David Richards, his Premier League counterpart, about the matter, but distanced himself from Whelan’s plans.

Middlesbrough were docked three points — and relegated as a result — ten years ago after failing to fulfil a fixture because of injuries and illness to 16 players. Although Gibson would privately shed no tears if West Ham are relegated, he will remind Whelan today, when Wigan play Middlesbrough at the JJB Stadium, that his club do not wish to be involved in any group action.

Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United plc chairman, was not so reticent. “There was no hanging around, no grass growing around our feet,” he said yesterday. “We have some excellent and reputable lawyers who have already been looking at this for a week. We felt this needed to be done.”

The Premier League is perplexed that the clubs should threaten to sue their governing body when it was an independent commission that made the judgment on West Ham. In response to the letter from the four clubs, a Premier League spokesman said last night: “We will study the contents of the letter and respond accordingly.”