The FA board discussed Leeds’ appeal against the 15 point penalty at a meeting yesterday, but they haven’t yet announced what they decided.

The 15-point deduction was one of several items on the FA's agenda and the club are expected to learn later this week whether the FA will recommend an independent assessment of the League's sanction.

Ken Bates has hinted that he would be willing to accept the punishment if the League's ruling is supported by an independent panel, and sent documents stating his case to Soho Square last month. The FA board does not have the authority to reverse the League's decision outright, but the dispute may now be passed to their regulatory department for further consideration following yesterday's meeting. Leeds hope an independent tribunal will then be asked to arbitrate.

The FA's 14-man board includes Football League chairman Lord Brian Mawhinney and Ipswich Town chairman David Sheepshanks, and Bates claimed he had been informed that, while these two gentlemen were free to attend yesterday’s meeting, neither of them would be allowed to contribute to the discussion of the 15-point penalty due to a potential conflict of interest.

Bates has insisted previously that United adhered to Football League rules when ending their spell in administration, despite the club's failure to implement an approved CVA. The situation represented the first occasion that the League has used the exceptional circumstances clause to return a club's Football League share without a CVA, and there is nothing in their rule book to say that a 15 point penalty should apply.

The Association is not expected to comment publicly on the outcome of yesterday's meeting, but it is likely to tell the club by the end of the week whether they intend to back the League's judgment or to call for an independent tribunal. A spokesman for the FA told the Yorkshire Post "The full details of the discussions will be passed on in correspondence with the club."

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