Member Article

Cellino asked to resign from Leeds United by the Football League

Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has been disqualified and asked to resign from the Championship club by the Football League.

The club have said in a statement that they are in the process of taking legal action and it is not clear who will run Leeds in the interim.

The League applied to the Italian Courts for its full disclosure relating to tax discrepancies on a boat in Italy.

The Board considered detailed legal advice and agreed unanimously (with the exception of its Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, who did not take part in the debate or vote having declared an interest) that Mr. Cellino is subject to a disqualifying condition under the terms of the Test.

Mr. Cellino is entitled to appeal the Board’s decision to the PCC within 14 days. As the Judgment of the Italian Court has not been published in Italy, The Football League will not make any of its contents public.

In March, the Football League had had ruled that Mr. Cellino was subject to a disqualifying condition after he was found guilty of a tax offence relating to the non-payment of import duties on a boat which resulted in him being fined €600k.

Cellino successfully appealed the decision. However it was stated at the time that “if the reasoned ruling of the court in Cagliari discloses that the conduct of Mr Cellino was such that it would reasonably be considered to be dishonest, he would become subject to a Disqualifying Condition.”

Leeds were losing around £1 million a month at the time of the takeover, but Cellino told BBC Radio Leeds in July that he had cleared the club’s debts and on Saturday announced he was going to invest a further £20 million into the club.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .