Leeds owner disqualified by Football League

Leeds owner Massimo Cellino could be forced to sell the club after the Football League announced the Italian has failed its Owners’ and Directors’ Test.

The unpopular owner successfully appealed against the League’s decision to block his takeover of Leeds in April, but after receiving the detailed evidence from the Italian court that convicted him of tax evasion, the governing body has ruled the 58-year-old is not fit to continue as the club’s president.

The League’s board of directors agreed unanimously at a meeting last week, after finally receiving the Italian judge’s written report on Cellino’s conviction for failing to pay tax on his yacht, that Cellino is “subject to a disqualifying condition under the terms of the Test”.

The League confirmed that Cellino is entitled to appeal.

A statement from the club stated that the disqualification of owner Massimo Cellino by the Football League will be "destabilising" for the club given that his conviction for tax evasion will be spent by March of next year.