Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino acquitted of tax evasion

There is finally some good news for Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino, but it unfortunately doesn’t affect the Championship club.

A court ruling in Italy has cleared Leeds’ chairman of tax evasion during his time as Cagliari owner.

This particular case is related to the transfers of former Cagliari players Edgar Alvarez and Joe Bizera back in 2007.

Due to the introduction of a new government ruling last October, the alleged offences that Cellino committed are no longer punishable by law and therefore the Italian businessman has been acquitted by the court.

In October, Cellino was disqualified under the Football League’s owners and directors’ testdue to his conviction for not paying taxes in his home country in a different case this past June. Cellino was ordered to pay €40k (£28.5k) by an Italian court for non-payment of import duty on a Range Rover he’d imported to Sardinia from the United States.

Less than a month later, Cellino also pulled out of selling the club to supporters group Leeds Fans Utd (LFU) and revealed he won’t sell his controlling interest in Leeds until 2016.

Cellinopreviously expressed interest in selling the club following a 2-0 home defeat to blackburn Rovers. At the time he called his tenure at the Championship club a “nightmare” and described feeling “shame” everytime Leeds loses a game.