SEAN BEAN - BEAN BEGS FOR HIS SOCCER SIDE

BEAN BEGS FOR HIS SOCCER SIDE

Sports mad actor SEAN BEAN has led a protest to England's Houses of Parliament to highlight the "unfair" way his soccer side was relegated to a lower division. Sheffield United were knocked out of the Premiership - English soccer's top league - and demoted a lower division in May (07) when the sporting season ended. But supporters believe rivals West Ham United should have lost points and been relegated instead for using a player who was not properly registered. The Troy actor - who is also a director at Sheffield United - and 100 other supporters met Members of Parliament (MPs) yesterday (13Jun07) to voice their opinions on the subject. Bean says, "I think I'm in a position to express my opinion and that of many Sheffield United fans aggrieved by the decision that was made by the original panel. "My message to MPs would be to thank them for the support we've had - I think we've had 40-plus MPs getting behind us and they've shown sympathy for our cause." An arbitration panel will hear the club's claim against the Premier League's failure to dock West Ham points over the transfer saga involving Argentinean striker Carlos Tevez on 18 June (07).