The Football League have read the last rites on Massimo Cellino’s attempt to buy a majority stake in Leeds United. So where do we go from here?
Today’s announcement has confirmed what seemed inevitable as soon as Cellino was found guilty of tax evasion last week by an Italian court. The League had been under pressure from various quarters to reject Cellino’s bid to demonstrate that their ‘Fir and Proper Persons’ test had some substance, and his conviction last week gave them the grounds for refusal that they were looking for.
Yesterday Cellino’s lawyer was suggesting he could still pass the test on a technicality, as he is appealing against his conviction and in Italy someone who has made an appeal is regarded as still innocent, unlike the sitation in Britain. But this argument has been rejected by the league.
A statement from the Football League said "At its meeting yesterday evening, the Board of The Football League considered the eligibility of Massimo Cellino under its Owners’ and Directors’ Test. The Board considered detailed legal advice with regard to the application of its regulations within the context of a decision made under Italian law.
"Mr. Cellino was recently found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a Court in Sardinia of an offence under Italian tax legislation relating to the non-payment of import duties on a boat. Having fully considered the matter, the Board agreed unanimously that the decision of the Italian Court does constitute a disqualifying condition under its Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
"The relevant disqualifying condition being that Massimo Cellino has been convicted of an offence involving acts that would reasonably be considered to be dishonest. In line with Football League regulations, Massimo Cellino is entitled to appeal against the Board’s decision within 14 days. In such circumstances, The League would seek to expedite the process to deliver certainty to all parties in the shortest possible timeframe.”
Cellino is expected to exercise this right and appeal against the League’s decision, but his chances of overturning it must be fairly slim. So what happens next in the crazy world of Leeds United? The Farnan group are said to be still interested in buying a stake in the club, and are now likely to make a move by the end of the week.
GFH may be forced to go cap in hand to Farnan as their last remaining option, but the two groups will have quite a lot of making up to do. Farnan irritated GFH by making an initial bid that was far too low (only £7 million) back in Novermber, at a time when they were negotiating with Andrew Flowers consortium. GFH then refused to talk to Farnan when Flowers revised the amount he was offering at the end of January, preferring to talk to Cellino instead.
And only last week GFH were complaining about the way both Flowers and Farnan had been urging the League to block Cellino, so it’s clear GFH will only negotiate with Farnan if they have no other option. But it’s likely they will now have to accept whatever amount Fanan is prepared to offer for a stake in the club, unless another bidder emerges who has yet to show an interest in the club.
With all the publicity about Cellino and the state of the club it’s possible that another bidder’s attention will have been drawn to the club, but the woeful state of our finances has also been made clear, so any new bidder will have to be someone with very deep pockets.
Meanwhile, the wage bill has been reduced by a small amount has Sunderland have recalled Conor Wickham from his period on loan. Every little helps.