West Ham and Sheffield United have brought an end to the Carlos Tevez saga by agreeing an out-of-court settlement for compensation.

The two clubs have been in dispute ever since Tevez helped secure the Hammers' Premier League status at the Blades' expense in 2007. However, with the affair having dragged on for almost two years a conclusion to the matter has finally been found.

The figures for the final compensation package differ depending on what newspaper you read, but most seem to believe the final total to be in the region of £15million spread over five seasons.

The agreement now means that the independent tribunal which was due to reconvene this week will no longer proceed.

In a joint statement, West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury and Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe said: "Both clubs are pleased to announce that a satisfactory settlement for compensation has been reached which brings the dispute between Sheffield United and West Ham United to an end. The tribunal will not be resuming."

You would think it would be difficult for West Ham to come out of this situation occupying the moral high ground, but Sheffield have just managed to allow that with their unsavoury actions, and there is no doubt this whole farce has left a nasty taste in the mouth with most Hammers fans feeling extremely bitter that an agreement has been reached with Sheffield United.

The Blades clamour for compensation looked to be nothing more than a flight of fancy, until the Yorkshire club won a High Court case in which it was deemed by an idiotic judge, backed by alarming opinion from sports writers who should have known better, that the sole reason that West Ham stayed up and Sheffield went down was due to Carlos Tevez. This is still a judgement it is hard to believe was actually passed down.

Popular opinion now suggests that, with a settlement figure agreed, the Icelandic consortium will now be able to proceed with the sale of the club and, at the very least, it means that West Ham can concentrate on achieving the highest position they can this season without fear of points deductions and administration threats.

Nevertheless, it's very disappointing - even at this late stage - to see the usual rubbish being pedalled about the full extent of the Tevez and Mascherano transfers with even Soccernet's own Dale Johnson penning a misleading article on this very site. Still, even after all this time, it is still being suggested that West Ham played unregistered players - this was never the case, Tevez was always eligible to play for the club - and the hefty £5m, right or wrong, was the punishment metered out for misleading the Premier League and it should have been the end of the matter.

Deciding in court that one player is responsible for keeping a team up or down though has cast doubt over any sporting contest and it is this decision that all sports fans, whatever their allegiance, should be considering today. Some may feel justice has been served but I think that football, rather than West Ham United, has been the loser today.