Massimo Cellino’s latest appeal has been rejected, which means that he will now have to step down from any involvement in running the club until April 10th. So where do we go from here?

A Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) chaired by Tim Kerr QC rejected the appeal after deciding his tax evasion conviction in Italy was an offence of dishonesty. Back in April Kerr ruled in Cellino’s favour in allowing one of his previous appeals, but this time his verdict has gone the other way, now that he has received the report from the court in Italy.

Cellino will now have to step down as a director until April 10 when his conviction becomes spent under UK law, and he won’t be able to have any influence behind the scenes either, as the Football League’s regulations also apply to ‘shadow directors’.

In its judgement the PCC stated: "We consider that the judge's findings of fact and her description of Mr Cellino's state of mind based on them, is of conduct which would reasonably be considered to be dishonest. We therefore conclude that Mr Cellino has been convicted of an offence involving a 'Dishonest Act' within the meaning of the rules, and that he is accordingly subject to a 'Disqualifying Condition'.”

And a Football League spokesman said: "The Football League's sole objective throughout this process has been to ensure that our regulations, as democratically approved by our member clubs, are complied with. These regulations uphold principles relating to club ownership that are widely recognised to be in the interests of the game and have the support of the other football authorities, the Government and football supporters generally."

And it could get worse, as Cellino and the club are also facing a further misconduct charge for failing to supply the Italian court judgment to the Football League when it first became available. (As if the League couldn’t have got hold of a copy themselves). "This will be heard by a Football Disciplinary Commission in line with League regulations in due course". What does that mean, a possible fine or a points deduction?

That said, the league also said it will provide any assistance requested by Leeds to help it minimise the effect on Cellino's disqualification, which is nice. That presumably means the risk of him refusing to fund the club while he’s disqualified (and it’s fair to assume we are still losing money despite his efforts to trim the wage bill) though there is no requirement for Cellino’s family company (Elanora Sport) to sell the club.

Cellino has had time to prepare for a possible disqualification, and that is probably why he appointed Matt Child as the club's new Chief Operating Officer last month. Presumably Child will keep the club ticking over until April 10th, though it remains to be seen whether Elanora will continue to fund any transfer deals during the current transfer window. Will Redfearn now have a free hand to sign the players he wants or will Child now be overseeing the recruitment of the squad?

Looking further into the future, another cloud on the horizon is that Cellino is also facing a similar charge in Italy relating to a second yacht, ironically called ‘Lucky 23’. That case could ultimately result in a further disqualification for Cellino, this time for up to 12 months. Would he then decide he’d had enough and look to sell up? And who would want to buy the club?

Cellino and his yachts seem to have carried us out into very deep water indeed.

Photo: Action Images

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