Last year, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis put the club into blind trust in case they qualified for the Champions League.
That could have presented a conflict with his other club, Olympiakos.
With Forest in the Europa League semi-finals, they once again have a chance of being in the Champions League. And it seems that Olympiakos will also be in it.
In a blind trust, the relevant parties transfer their shares to independent trustees, so all of the club’s decision-making will be solely under the control of the third party.
The club is controlled through a company called NF Football Investments.
Until February 28, Marinakis was the only person with significant control.
He was dismissed and moved to another company, Pittville Four Limited, controlled by Janet Lucy Gibson, Henry Peter Hickman and Eleanor Catherine Walsh.
Those three independent trustees also joined the football club’s board of directors, replacing Mighael Dugher, Simon Forster and Jonathan Owen.
Forest’s problem could be that new signings would have to pass the Premier League owners and directors test.
It was not until April 17 that Companies House was updated.
The Premier League directors’ register, last updated on April 2, still includes Marinakis, Dugher, Forster and Owen.
Will the presentation of the blind trust on February 28 be enough? Or would UEFA consider April 17 as the date the club would comply?
Forest insist Marinakis officially relinquished control on February 28 and they will have no problem with UEFA.
Two years ago, the CFCB accepted a blind trust to admit Manchester City and Girona to the Champions League, and Manchester United and Nice to the Europa League, satisfied that multiple puppy ownership issues had been resolved.
However, at the time he stated that “he will not be bound by this alternative in future seasons.”
Until the CFCB makes another decision on a blind trust, there is no absolute certainty that it will be accepted.
