Sunderland and the ‘lenient’ penalty for the ineligible player are at odds.

Following news that Cardiff City, Norwich City, and Fulham have banded together and hired attorneys to challenge the contentious ruling not to deduct Sunderland points for playing an illegal player, the Premier League may be facing legal action from three of its own teams.

The Observer can disclose that a self-appointed “Gang of Three” has started the process of opening procedures regarding Sunderland’s release from a six-figure punishment, despite Ji Dong-won playing in four league games over the course of seven weeks, earlier in the season. Fulham has joined Norwich and Cardiff in their challenge to the league, and a formal letter has been submitted on behalf of all three teams stating that the offense was significant enough to be penalized points for.

With their 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday, Sunderland helped send Fulham and Cardiff down to League One. They are now enjoying a fantastic run of play, sitting three points above Norwich in third place and close to pulling off what Gus Poyet has called a “miracle” comeback.

But now, if Sunderland’s incredible run of results—which also includes a 2-1 victory at Chelsea and a 2-2 draw at Manchester City—ends with them winning their top-flight status, there is a real risk that the legal battle may drag into the summer. The Ji case has to be reviewed, according to the three teams challenging the league. Should that request be denied, there’s a good probability the team that places 18th would file a lawsuit.

AFC Wimbledon, a team in League Two, was recently fined three points for fielding an ineligible player. Norwich, Cardiff, and Fulham’s legal teams have compiled a long list of instances when other teams have breached the regulations in comparable circumstances and suffered point losses.

They contend that Sunderland has been given special treatment, despite a convincing body of evidence demonstrating that this offense should be punished with more than a fine across league lines.

The extreme example is Altrincham, who were fined 18 points in 2006 for signing James Robinson from Accrington Stanley without knowing that he had never been cleared by the international team following a time in Iceland. Three points have been deducted as the penalty in the great majority of these occurrences.

The legal letter demands an explanation for why the authorities attempted to conceal the Sunderland case, argues that it is unfair that another club could be demoted as a result of the indulgence shown to Poyet’s team, and emphasizes the substantial financial losses incurred by a club that drops into the Championship.

The attorneys also point out that Ji participated in the 1-1 draw at St Mary’s in August, and that Sunderland’s manager openly declared that Southampton should have won. Poyet has acknowledged that he was surprised the punishment was not harsher.

Ji participated in three further league games, including ones against Manchester United, Crystal Palace, and Fulham. Among the considerations for the league’s decision-making were Sunderland’s loss of them all and the fact that the team had admitted to its own error as soon as it had happened. Ji had been on loan at Augsburg, therefore he required international clearance. Sunderland’s secretary, Liz Coley, quit not long after the mistake was discovered.

As per the applicable laws of the Football Association, Rule 6.9 stipulates that “any club found to have played an ineligible player in a match shall have any points gained from that match deducted from its record”. It also states that “the board … may also levy penalty points against the club in default” .

Nonetheless, the league feels that the way the regulations are worded gives it a strong case. Poyet stated on April 4th, “I would understand if we had been docked points, but I’m not saying we should have.” It’s amazing. The guidelines ought to be unambiguous. There ought to be only one rule. The terms’may’ or’might’ in English regulations are absurd. They provide you the freedom to do as you like. May or might shouldn’t be used. That ought to be the norm. In short, yes or no. There would then be no gray area.

Ji also played in Sunderland’s 4-2 Capital One Cup victory over Milton Keynes Dons in the second round. The Football League decided not to ban Sunderland from the competition before the case could be considered, even after the team had advanced to the semi-finals. Rather than accepting the information on a need-to-know basis, Sunderland was hit with a second punishment. However, last month, the story was leaked to a major newspaper.