ONLINE POLL: Cellino verdict opens way for Together Leeds

The 57-year-old – who early last month exchanged contracts over a £25m deal to buy a majority stake in the Championship club via his family company, Eleonora Sports Ltd – was yesterday found guilty by a Sardinian court over non-payment of around 400,000 euros when he bought a luxury yacht in 2010.

The judgment, which saw the boat confiscated and a fine of 600,000 euros imposed, came as a major blow to Cellino, whose legal representative, Giovanni Cocco, has already indicated his client will appeal.

Now, the focus will switch to the Football League, who have promised to give their verdict on the planned change of ownership at Elland Road from Gulf Finance House to Eleonora by the end of this week.

Yesterday, the governing body was locked in talks with Cellino’s legal team. But the conviction for tax evasion seems, on the surface, to bar the Italian from taking charge of United because it contravenes the League’s Owners and Directors’ Test.

For United, the implications of the Eleonora deal collapsing would be serious with Cellino having already provided considerable funds to cover running costs at Elland Road.

The businessman, who is the owner of Serie A side Cagliari, has covered the club’s staff wage bill for the last two months and has paid off a loan from shirt sponsors Enterprise Insurance to stave off a winding-up order.

Since contracts were exchanged between GFH and Eleonora on February 7, Leeds have also made a couple of costly loan captures in goalkeeper Jack Butland and striker Connor Wickham.

With March’s wage bill again looming large for a club understood to be haemorrhaging a seven-figure sum every month, the loss of Cellino’s financial backing and the potential of his loan being called in would have serious ramifications at Elland Road.

Just last week, United managing director David Haigh insisted to The Yorkshire Post that there was no danger of the club going into administration.

Supporters must hope that those words don’t come back to haunt their club in the wake of the Italian court’s ruling.

Yesterday’s developments in Sardinia could, though, have opened the door for the Mike Farnan-led consortium.

Also including former Hull City chairman Adam Pearson and Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive Gary Verity, the Together Leeds group had a bid rejected to buy United last year. Ever since, they have maintained a watching brief.

But the desire of Farnan, who has previously revealed that the group were backed by “institutional funding”, to take charge at Elland Road, has never wavered and his group are expected to up their efforts in the coming days.

Sources have indicated to The Yorkshire Post that the funding remains in place to launch a bid and that the group is seeking urgent talks with United’s current owners.

So far, however, GFH have been reluctant to engage with Farnan and his fellow consortium members. Speaking last month, United chairman Salah Nooruddin said: “Their first offer (made in November) was ridiculous.

“When they saw we were going to complete a deal with someone serious they made more noise. But it was too late.”

As for Cellino, his legal team must now try to convince the League that yesterday’s judgment should not prevent the takeover by Eleonora from going ahead.

The court case against the Italian had begun several weeks ago.

Miami-based Cellino had denied that he was seeking to evade import duty on the yacht.

He told the court in December that he had planned to have it sailed to the United States, where he had bought it, but was unable to do so due to damage to the yacht. Following the verdict, the judge has 90 days to provide written reasons for the judgment. Only once those have been delivered can an appeal be launched.

Speaking in the wake of yesterday’s verdict, a Football League spokesman said: “The Football League has noted the outcome of the court hearing earlier today regarding Massimo Cellino.

“We are engaged in an ongoing dialogue with his legal representatives in this country and cannot comment further at this time.”

Cellino first became interested in Leeds early this season and was shown around the club’s Thorp Arch training ground as long ago as October.

He has been at several games since his involvement first became public early this year, the most recent of which was the 5-1 hammering by Bolton Wanderers on March 8.

Just this week, manager Brian McDermott came out in favour of the Italian taking over.