You couldn’t make it up, could you. At the end of yet another eventful day in the circus that Leeds United have become, our beloved owner has now been banned by the Football League for a second time.

Sometimes it’s not easy being a publisher of an unofficial Leeds United website, given the fast-moving pace of events at Elland Road, at a time when I’m supposed to be getting on with my day job. Just when I’d thought of a dreadful pun for the title of my last piece and posted the damn thing, I discovered that at least a portion of it might already be out of date.

In the last hour Massimo Cellino has been banned by the Football League as Leeds United owner until June next year, though he has until the 28th of October to appeal. It’s not clear at this stage whether he will be able to remain in charge until that date.

And it’s possible that Steve Evans’ contract hasn’t yet been signed, so if the ban takes immediate effect, could those who take temporary charge be in a position to reverse the decision to appoint the fat one?

The Football League broke the news with the statement from the reads “At its recent meeting, the Board of The Football League (with the exception of its Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, who declared an interest) considered the position of Leeds United President, Massimo Cellino, under its Owners’ and Directors’ test.”

“In June, Mr Cellino was found guilty by a Court in Sardinia of an offence under Italian tax legislation relating to the non-payment of VAT on the importation of a Land Rover vehicle. This resulted in a fine of €40,000 and the confiscation of the vehicle in question.”

“Having considered detailed legal advice and the Court’s reasoned judgment, as supplied by Mr Cellino, the Board determined that the decision of the Italian Court constitutes a disqualifying condition under the Owners’ and Directors’ test. Mr Cellino has until October 28 to appeal against the Board’s decision. Any such appeal would be heard by an independent panel. The League will make no further comment at this time.”

Shaun Harvey’s ‘interest’ does of course relate to his former position at Elland Road, even though he had moved on before Cellino took over the club. But many Leeds fans would have found it a bit ironic if he had been allowed to sit in judgement on the Italian, given that the handling of the club’s finances wasn’t exactly transparent during the period he served as Ken Bates’ right hand man.

This second banning of Il Presidente will obviously cause yet another period of instability at the club, and Cellino’s troubles won’t even end there, as he still has yet another tax evasion case to come before the Italian courts, relating to a second yacht. But in the long term, this could well be the best thing that could have happened.

It’s become increasingly obvious that the best hope we have for a decent future for the club is for Cellino to get tired of his constant battles with the League and sell up. We’re grateful for the amount of money he has put into Leeds United, but he has brought us little else but chaos and confusion, so it’s time to find a decent owner to take the club forward.

Photo: Action Images

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