Leeds United owner given stay of execution on disqualification order

LEEDS UNITED owner Massimo Cellino has been given a stay of execution by the Football League over its demand that he must relinquish control of the club.

The governing body had said he must resign as a director of Leeds United and take no part in its management.

The Italian businessman was found to have failed the League’s Owners and Directors’ Test after Mr Cellino was found guilty under Italian tax legislation relating to the non-payment of import duties on a boat, which resulted in a €600,000 fine.

The original decision required Mr Cellino to resign as a director of Leeds United and cease acting as a ‘relevant person’ in line with Football League regulations by December 29. 

He had indicated he would appeal the judgement, and the process and date of the appeal has now been agreed, which includes delaying the need for him to hand over control of Leeds United until after the appeal has been heard on January 15.

In a joint statement, the Football League and Leeds United said: “The League has agreed to defer that deadline until two days after the handing down of the final decision of the Professional Conduct Committee.

“As a consequence, the parties have agreed that if Mr Cellino is unsuccessful in his appeal, any disqualification period will be extended by an amount equivalent to the length of time between December 29 and the deferred deadline.

The Professional Conduct Committee will be chaired by Tim Kerr QC, who in April found that Mr Cellino’s tax conviction in the Sardinian Court did not involve conduct that would “reasonably be considered to be dishonest” based on the evidence before him. However the Italian court’s full written judgement has subsequently become available, which led to the Football League’s action.

Mr Cellino’s conviction will be judged as being spent on March 28, 2015, when he would have been free to resume control at Leeds United. If his appeal fails, this date will be pushed back.