Massimo Cellino will not sell up at Leeds
Massimo Cellino has said that he will not sell up at Leeds United despite having failed the Football League’s fit and proper person test.
Article Taxonomy: Legal
Regulator shows El Tel the red card
A new football fund promoted by Terry Venables has been shown the red card after a regulator ruled it is not licensed to operate in Anguilla. El Tel launched the Football Talent Fund in August with three former footballers.
Spanish court strikes blow at financial fair play
We have argued for some time that financial fair play (FFP) rules at the European and domestic level are open to legal challenge. In an order of November 17th the Spanish Commercial Court has struck a blow at the rules of La Liga on FFP.
La Liga had penalised Getafe by preventing them from playing Pedro León. They argued that by doing so it would have exceeded the total amount of money it could pay to players under the Spanish FFP rules. The Court was asked for an interim measure to allow him to play.
Winding up order served on Leeds
A winding up order has been served on Leeds United in a dispute over £150,000. It relates to a case from the Bates era and former director Melvyn Levi and what are alleged to be unpaid legal costs.
QPR fine threat
QPR face future exclusion from the Football League if they do not pay a financial fair play fine which could be as much as £40m. They would then have to play in the Football Conference.
QPR chairman Tony Fernandes has vowed to fight any fine, which does seem disproportionate. He may have grounds for doing so as there are question marks about the compatbility of the rules with competition law.
More financial problems at Rangers
Rangers are facing more financial turbulence after former director Imran Ahman succeeded in a court bid to freeze £620,000 of their assets over a bonus dispute. Rangers have appealed the court’s decision on the grounds that there has been an ‘error of law’ and are expecting a hearing tomorrow.
‘I’ll see you in court’
Football disputes are increasingly referred to the courts rather than being settled by the game’s governing bodies or directly between those involved.
Crystal Palace now face the prospect of being taken to court by Cardiff City over the so-called ‘spygate’ affair. Cardiff City take the view that the fine imposed by the Football Association for the leaking of their team’s details was insufficient.
Premier League opens up new technology war
The Premier League is concerned that fans are threatening its earning power by recording content from matches on smart phone and other devices and sharing them on various sites. Vine, which is a short-form video sharing service is often used (it is owner by Twitter). The Times and The Sun pay a lot of money for exclusive rights to this sort of content.
#bringCityhome a step closer?
Coventry City’s owners Sisu have complied with the instructions of the Football League and paid £471,192 in outstanding rent and other costs for the Ricoh Arena to its operators Arena Coventry Limited (ACL). ACL had said that they would not engage in negotiations with Sisu until the money was paid.
2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Under Pressure Over Artificial Pitches
A group of international female football stars has retained two top law firms, Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP in the USA and Osler Hoskin & Harcourt in Canada, and are threatening legal action over the decision to play the next Women’s World Cup on what they call a “second-class surface” that they say causes more injuries and “degrades the women’s game.”