West Ham confident of no punishment for defaulting on Haller fee payment

West Ham are confident they will not face any punishment after Eintracht Frankfurt complained to Fifa about the Premier League club defaulting on a £5.4m payment for Sébastien Haller.

West Ham made Haller their record signing when buying the striker for £45m last summer, with 75% of the fee paid up front, but an investigation is in motion after they missed a 15 May deadline to pay the latest instalment. The club could face sanctions from Fifa after Frankfurt lodged a complaint with world football’s governing body.

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West Ham are thought to be relaxed about the issue and are insistent it is not down to any funding problems. Fifa’s rules on “overdue payables” state that “clubs are required to comply with their financial obligations towards players and other clubs as per the terms stipulated in the contracts signed with their professional players and in the transfer agreements”. A club found to have delayed a due payment for more than 30 days without an agreement risks sanctions ranging from a warning, a fine or, for more serious cases, a transfer embargo for one or two windows.

Fifa rules state that the more serious penalties are usually given to repeat offenders. It is understood that West Ham’s delayed payment was down to a commercially confidential issue between them and Frankfurt. Sources at West Ham have indicated the payment will be processed soon, resolving the matter.

Haller has missed the first three games of Project Restart with a hip injury but could return when West Ham, who are three points above the bottom three after their win against Chelsea on Wednesday, visit Newcastle on Sunday. The Frenchman, 26, has scored seven goals in his first season in England.