Tottenham Hotspur FC is reportedly considering legal action against either the Marriott hotel chain or the Premier League, following a bout of illness that hit several of its players before a crucial match at West Ham on 7 May.

Spurs lost the game after 10 of its players fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea and tests are currently being carried out to determine whether the illness was due to food poisoning, which allegedly may have been a result of eating at the London Marriott West India Quay hotel the night before the match.

Spurs’ team doctor, Kalpesh Parmar, said: “Given the nature of such an infection, it is extremely difficult to determine the origin. It could be passed by food contamination or human contact.

“In respect of the tests that have been conducted, it will be at least 48 hours before we have the results.”

The investigation is being carried out by Tower Hamlets Council and the Health Protection Agency.

Tottenham made a request to the Premier League to postpone the match for a day, which was subsequently turned down. However, the Premier League did offer the club the chance to delay the match by two hours, which the club declined.

It has been reported that the League could be subject to legal action if it is deemed not to have followed correct procedure.

The loss caused Tottenham to slip to fifth place which, although still qualifies them to play in the UEFA cup, means they will lose their Champions League place as well as a £10m bonus.

Photograph: Michael Carrick, one of the players who fell ill