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Exasperation with the ineffectiveness of the Football League’s test for directors of football clubs is one factor has led Business Secretary Vince Cable to formulate new rules to ban ‘dodgy directors’. Those who have committed purely commercial offences would be banned under the new rules.
Massimo Cellino”s appeal against his disqualification as a prospective owner of Leeds United was heard in London yesterday, but the independent QC in charge of the appeal has reserved judgment while he considers the arguments put forward. This at least implies that he thought Cellino had a case worthy of further consideration.
Leeds United are pushing for a decision in the next 24 hours on whether Massimo Cellino’s takeover of the club will be approved. They wrote to the Football League’s in-house lawyer, Nick Craig, on Thursday morning.
We are always being told by David Conn and other advocates of transplanting the ‘German model’ into English football (and other aspects of UK life) that the Bundesliga and its clubs are in effect morally superior to those in the Premiership. They charge fans less, have more fan involvement and have managed to be both ethical and profitable.
Despite the ‘business as usual’ signs hanging outside Birmingham City, the club faces a period of uncertainty following the six year sentence imposed on owner Carson Yeung for money laundering.
The club must wait until next month to see if prosecutors seize all his assets, including his shares in the Blues. He is understood to have attempted to sell his shares.
There is some uncertainty about whether or not Liverpool will satisfy Uefa’s financial fair play (FFP) rules after the publication of broadly encouraging financial results earlier this week which the club claims will usher in a new era of financial stability.
Of course, there is uncertainty about how the rules will apply to any club, given that the devil is in the detail. The decisions will be as much political as legal ones and it is likely that Uefa, with a French president, will want to make an example of at least one Premier League club.
Birmingham City Football Club majority shareholder Carson Yeung was found guilty by a Hong Kong court today of five counts of money-laundering in a high-profile trial. Yeung, who had denied the charges of laundering $93 million between January 2001 and December 2007, will be sentenced on Friday. He faces up to seven years in jail, although a five year sentence is being forecast.
Barcelona have denied any tax irregularities in relation to the signing of Neymar. However, in order to safeguard their reputation, they have made a tax declaration of just over €13.5m (£11.1m). However, they insist that the original tax payment was in line with their obligations.
The Football Conference could face a big legal bill as Maidstone United step up their battle to be allowed to play on a 3G pitch next year. They are currently top of the Ryman Premier, with financially challenged Dulwich Hamlet on the same number of points.
There is something of a chicken game in the threats of legal action as Maidstone would prefer to settle out of court. Conference chairman Brian Lee has used the pejorative term ‘blackmail’. Anyone is entitled to take legal action if they think they have a case, although I am not convinced that the Maidstone case is that strong.
West Ham’s attempt to get Andy Carroll’s red card rescinded by threatening to take the football authorities to court ended in failure. Faced with the legal challenge, the matter was referred to independent arbitration, but it was ruled that the red card should stand. West Ham must pay the fees and expenses of the tribunal and the Football Association’s costs of £13,092.