The Football League has bowed to the inevitable and accepted that they now have to allow Massimo Cellino to complete his purchase of 75% of the shares in the club.
Having appointed Tim Kerr as an independent QC to hear Cellino’s appeal against their original refusal to allow the takeover, they had little choice but to accept his decision. The League did consider making an appeal of their own against Kerr’s decision, but during a board meeting today they decided not allow Cellino to become the majority shareholder of the club.
A league spokesman said: "At its meeting in London today, the board of directors of the Football League considered the outcome of the recent appeal by Massimo Cellino under the owners' and directors' test.”
"In making its original decision, the board took the view that Mr Cellino's recent conviction in Sardinia was for an act that 'would reasonably be considered to be dishonest' and that he was therefore subject to a disqualifying condition.
"In the current absence of detailed reasons for the conviction from the Sardinian Court and having taken into account the principles of Italian law, an independent QC reached a different conclusion. On this basis, Massimo Cellino is cleared to be a director of Leeds United."
So that’s it for the time being, but the owners of each Football League club are re-assessed in June every year, so Cellino could still have to sell his shareholding at some point in the future if he loses his appeal against his conviction for Tax Evasion in Italy, or he loses the fraud case that is still hanging over him.