SHEFFIELD United's compensation claim against West Ham United over the Carlos Tevez affair will be delayed until 2009.

The Blades want £30million in damages after being relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2006/07 season - a claim upheld by an independent tribunal last month.

A three-man panel agreed that Tevez, who had been signed on an illegal "third-party" contract, played an influential role in keeping West Ham in the Premier League at the Yorkshire side's expense.

However, with the Hammers due to submit an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Switzerland on Thursday and considering a High Court action, it will be months until the situation is resolved.

The tribunal's chairman, Lord Griffiths, is due to make directions at a hearing on Thursday laying out a timetable to decide the final compensation figure, but the Irons are expected to ask for a postponement.

A decision over the final amount the Londoners will have to stump up is now unlikely to be made until next February, but that period could be shortened if the Blades refuse to give CAS the go-ahead to arbitrate in the case.

A West Ham spokesman insisted that the Irons' latest move was motivated by a feeling that the ruling could open a can of worms that would see the courts involved in a wide variety of football-related disputes.

The spokesman said: "We do believe that the arbitration panel's ruling needs to be reviewed by a court which can help resolve the outstanding issues in this case.

"This is not about the issue of damages - the current ruling has major implications for English football.

"West Ham will continue to look at the available options for further action and we do believe that Sheffield United should join us in a hearing at the Court of Arbitration."

The Blades' chairman Kevin McCabe refused to comment on West Ham's call, saying only: "If that is what they are saying, then that's their prerogative. We will not be commenting."