West Ham to vote for £5m Golden handshake

West Ham is expected to vote in favour of a £5m golden handshake for outgoing Premier League Chairman Richard Scudamore later today at the Premier League meeting of club Chairman and the proposal is expected to pass by 15 votes to 5.

Five clubs are said to oppose the payment which will cost each Premier League club £250,000. Those against are said to include Wolves and Fulham. The Premier League only require 14 clubs to agree on a proposal for it to pass and Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck believes he has secured the necessary votes.

Scudamore will preside over his final meeting of the 20 top-flight club chairmen in London today, following a leaving party at a restaurant last night attended by club executives and selected guests from the sports and media industry.

Yesterday the Times reported that the 59-year-old is also set to receive a new year honour in recognition of his 19 years as the head of the Premier League.

The idea of paying an already rich man a multi-million-pound bonus has received a backlash among football supporters, many say the money should go to grassroots football or be donated to a charity such as the Isla Caton fund which is £200,000 short of their £600,000 target.