The tickets found their way into the hands of Tottenham supporters and led to a severe breakdown in segregation and fighting between rival sets of supporters.
The scandal only came to light after young mother Ruth Lelacheur was punched in the face by Spurs supporter Jonatah Edmonds, whose ticket could be traced back to Impey.
Although the outstanding fine will not stop Cottee pressing ahead with his attempts to buy out West Ham chairman Terry Brown, the revelation is an acute embarrassment to him as he tries to secure the backing he needs for the takeover.
He is banned only from matters relating to playing and football management - a punishment which has stood since December 2002. West Ham have already sacked Cottee from his job as a match-day host in one of the Upton Park lounges and writing a regular column in the magazine.
Meanwhile it emerged today that Malcolm Glazer will press ahead with his £800 million move for Manchester United despite the board of the club failing to recommend his takeover proposal.
Glazer's backers insist that they will not finance a hostile takeover but it is understood they will back him as long as the board do not reject his 300p a share offer outright.
