MANCHESTER, England (AP) _ Manchester United wants world soccer's governing body to help untangle the contractual issues that are delaying its bid to sign Carlos Tevez.

United wants to sign the Argentina striker from West Ham, but the deal has been stalled by debate over who owns Tevez's contract.

Representatives from Manchester United have been in discussions with the Premier League and West Ham this week over the transfer, but with no resolution.

Manchester United chief executive David Gill said Wednesday that the club planned to ask FIFA's dispute resolution chamber to sort out the paperwork _ hopefully before the transfer window ends on Aug. 31.

But FIFA has yet to hear from Manchester United, and spokesman Andreas Herren said the matter would have to first be referred to the organization's legal department to determine if they can deal with the matter.

``We're very confident, as is the player, that the situation will be resolved in favour of Tevez,'' Gill said in Seoul, South Korea, where the club is on a pre-season tour.

``He will then be free to achieve his, and our, wish to join United.''

Tevez moved to West Ham with Argentina teammate Javier Mascherano in August 2006 from Brazilian club Corinthians. The move was engineered Kia Joorabchian, whose MSI company owned the economic rights to both players.

The Premier League investigated the transfers in April and found them to break rules on third-party ownership.

An independent tribunal fined West Ham 5.5 million pounds (C$11.8 million). West Ham, which had since lost Mascherano to Liverpool in January on a Premier League-approved contract, gave assurances that any anomalies in Tevez's contract had been fixed.

Joorabchian, however, has been dealing with Manchester United on the transfer as he insists MSI still owns the economic rights to Tevez.

The Premier League has said any transfer deal must be between West Ham and Manchester United, and that the Hammers must receive a commercially competitive transfer fee for Tevez to move.

West Ham has also written to the Premier League requesting the matter be referred to FIFA.

Tevez was scheduled to have a medical Wednesday, but West Ham blocked the move. Under Premier League rules, a player cannot have a medical test unless his club agrees and a transfer offer has been made.