Marshall decision expected this week

NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue expects to render a verdict by Friday in the disputed Wilber Marshall trade after a hearing with the Washington Redskins and Houston Oilers, a league spokesman said yesterday.

The hearing will be tomorrow or Thursday. Tagliabue returned to the league's New York offices yesterday after vacationing in China.

At issue is the status of a purported trade of Marshall from the Redskins to the Oilers.

Marshall and his agent, Richard Bennett of Washington, say the All-Pro linebacker accepted an offer of $2.75 million from the Oilers before Houston's deadline of June 3 expired.

The Oilers insist there is no deal, saying they withdrew the offer before receiving a letter from Bennett on June 2 accepting the deal.

The trade was originally made in May, when the Redskins agreed to send Marshall to Houston in exchange for the Oilers' first- and fifth-round picks in the 1994 draft -- if Marshall and the Oilers reached terms on a contract.