Leeds United’s Ross McCormack kisses his badge after scoring his hat-trick against Huddersfield Town. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA
Leeds United were embroiled in further chaos and farce with the club insisting that Brian McDermott remained as manager despite being relieved of his duties on Friday. The news followed a remarkable 5-1 victory over Huddersfield Town and confirmation that a controlling 75% stake in the club had been sold to a company owned by the Italian Massimo Cellino.
Leeds have this weekend been a club in disarray, with approximately 100 fans descending on Elland Road on Friday evening to voice their objection to McDermott’s departure and attempting to speak to Cellino, who was at the stadium.
McDermott was advised to stay away from the game against Huddersfield despite being informed by a club director and the chairman that his sacking, apparently at the behest of Cellino, was not authorised as the ownership of the club remained with the Bahrain-based investment bank Gulf Finance House.
The former Reading manager’s name was sung throughout the convincing win over west Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield, presided over in the dugout by McDermott’s assistant Nigel Gibbs, before Leeds released an official statement on their website .
It read: “The club would like to make it clear that Brian McDermott remains our first-team manager. He has not been dismissed from his post as has been suggested and we look forward to him continuing in his role with us in taking Leeds United forwards.”
McDermott, who reportedly refused a request from Cellino earlier in the week to have the former Middlesbrough defender Gianluca Festa sit in the dugout as an observer for the 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town, had been planning to attend Saturday’s match but was advised not to by the chairman, Salah Nooruddin.
Richard Bevan, chief executive of the League Manager’s Association, confirmed that the organisation was waiting for “clarification” of the situation at Leeds but that it was in touch with McDermott.
Bevan told the Observer: “Brian received a phone call last night [on Friday] from a solicitor apparently representing the club informing him that they were terminating his contract.
“This morning he then received a phone call and email from a director at Leeds and a phone call from the chairman to say that the company on behalf of the solicitor who had contacted Brian are not owners of Leeds United and that in the circumstances it was best that Brian did not take the match.
“They instructed him that it was best not to attend the match. But they confirmed to him that the company that the solicitor was representing was not owners of Leeds United. We don’t know if the decision was authorised or not. It’s a very sad situation for one of the oldest football clubs in the country. We’re waiting for clarification for what is going on.”
It appears as if Leeds is the subject of an internal power struggle between Cellino’s company, Eleonora Sport Ltd, and GFH Capital. The position of David Haigh, the club’s managing director, remains uncertain although Leeds did issue a statement before the Huddersfield game – in which United came back to win from a goal down with captain Ross McCormack scoring a hat-trick – confirming that Eleonora had completed a deal for a 75% stake in the club, subject to Football League approval.
It read: “Following recent media reports and speculation, GFH Capital would like to confirm that it has agreed to sell a 75% stake in the club to Eleonora Sport Ltd, a company owned by the Cellino family who have many years experience in football and who plan to invest substantially in the club including the re-acquisition of Elland Road. Eleonora will be working on completing the required Football League approval.
“The Cellino Family is a well-known Italian sports family, who have owned Serie A side Cagliari since 1992. They come to English football with an ambition to support Leeds United financially to take it to the Premier League and a belief that the club can sustain top-flight status.”
Cellino, who is an agricultural entrepreneur and has previously been accused of fraud, has owned Cagliari for 20 years and had 36 managers in that time.
Leeds appeared to have signed one Italian player on loan while the ownership struggles have ensued, with midfielder Andrea Tabanelli listed on the club’s website as part of the first-team squad.
Written by Steve Milne
