Who is Marinakis and is he still in control of Nottingham Forest?
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Nuno Espirito Santo has left Nottingham Forest after a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis.
In April, the Greek businessman stopped being a "person with significant control" at the club in order to comply with Uefa's multi-club ownership rules.
So what's going on?
Is Marinakis still in charge of Forest? And what are the rules on multi-club ownership?
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Who is Marinakis?
Evangelos Marinakis took over at Nottingham Forest in 2017
Marinakis is the founder and chairman of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp, an international shipping company, and was voted Greek Shipping Personality of the Year by British publication Lloyd's List in 2017.
He has also invested in the media and his company, Alter Ego Media, bought two of Greece's best known daily newspapers - Ta Nea and To Vima.
In 2019, he launched a new television channel, One Channel, in Greece. Earlier this year, his Alter Ego Media company, the largest media organisation in Greece, floated on the Athens stock market.
As well as owning Forest, Marinakis bought Olympiakos in 2010.
Under his ownership, the Greek side have won 11 domestic league titles and the Europa Conference League in 2024. Portuguese side Rio Ave also come under his portfolio.
When Marinakis bought Forest eight years ago he faced accusations of match-fixing in Greece, despite passing the EFL's owners' and directors' test.
It was a charge he denied and he was cleared in 2018.
The prosecution had accused him of fraud and blackmail, and joining and running a criminal organisation, but these allegations were dropped.
He also faced no action over allegedly being involved in the bombing of a referee's bakery. Marinakis denied any involvement.
Marinakis was also named during the investigation of one of Greece's most controversial drug trafficking cases.
The 'Noor 1' case is widely regarded as one of the largest in Greek history, involving the smuggling of 2.1 tonnes of heroin into Greece in 2014. Marinakis was never charged or convicted of a crime.
His alleged connections to individuals involved in the smuggling network placed him under formal judicial investigation for a time. He denied the allegations.
Marinakis is being investigated in relation to civil misdemeanours. The investigation was prompted by the death of a riot police officer who was injured by a flare following an Olympiakos v Panathinaikos volleyball game in December 2023.
Marinakis denies the allegations, which he says are "totally baseless", and has claimed it is a blackmail attempt.
Why did Marinakis dilute his control of the club?
'Our relationship has changed' - Nuno on Forest owner weeks before sacking
On 29 April, Forest were two points off third place and very much in the race for the Champions League.
This is the date Marinakis stopped being a person of control at the club, according to Companies House, the government organisation which holds the UK's register of companies.
"Cessation of Evangelos Marinakis as a person of significant control" was the standard, curt statement on Companies House to signify the end of his position with NF Football Investments Limited, the vehicle that owns the City Ground club.
It was accompanied by a one-page document which had been authorised and filed electronically.
The reason? Marinakis also controls Greek team Olympiakos, who were also set to be in the Champions League.
Uefa rules state clubs under the same ownership cannot compete in the same European competition.
Therefore, Marinakis had to, on paper at least, not be listed as a person with significant control of Forest.
At the time, a club source told the BBC Marinakis remained the owner and was still committed to the Premier League side.
Should Forest fail to qualify for the Champions League, Marinakis could become a "person of control" again.
Indeed, he went on to the pitch to speak to Nuno after a 2-2 home draw on 11 May against Leicester proved costly to their ambitions of playing in Europe's elite club competition.
Forest eventually finished seventh and qualified for the Uefa Conference League, although they were eventually promoted to the Europa League (more on that shortly).
Olympiakos did get into the Champions League as they finished seven points clear at the top of the Greek Super League.
As there was no conflict in Uefa's eyes, Marinakis could again be listed as the owner of both clubs.
On 12 June, there was another update to Companies House, which read: "Notification of Evangelos Marinakis as a person of significant control on 6 June 2025."
The accompanying document said "the person holds, directly or indirectly, 75% or more of the shares in the company".
What does this tell us about Uefa's multi-club ownership rules?
If Uefa's rules are designed to stop multi-club ownership, it appears to only do that on paper.
But football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Marinakis did nothing wrong and was entirely within the rules.
"Mr Marinakis transferred his shares into what is referred to as a blind trust. In theory, this means he had no involvement in executive decision-making for as long as the blind trust was deemed to exist," Maguire told BBC Sport.
"Looking at the outcome: Forest did not qualify for the Champions League, meaning there was no possibility of them playing Olympiakos in the same competition. As a result, the blind trust was dissolved, and Mr Marinakis regained control of both clubs.
"What many commentators were concerned about was that during the period of the blind trust - when, in theory, Mr Marinakis had no involvement in the running of the club - he was seen on the pitch and in conversation with manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
"This raised questions, but no rules were broken. From a legal point of view, the trust existed, and as far as Uefa is concerned, that was sufficient.
"It could be seen - or perhaps cynically observed - that just setting up a trust is a nominal activity. But it satisfies the legal position and Uefa is happy with the consequences."
The Crystal Palace subplot
Clubs have a 1 March deadline to show they comply with Uefa's multi-club ownership rules.
While Forest took the action in Companies House after this date, it ultimately did not matter as they did not end up in the same competition as Olympiakos.
However, another Premier League club did not have the same get-out.
Crystal Palace did not expect to be in Europe, having never been in one of the major Uefa competitions before.
So when their shock FA Cup final win over Manchester City put them in the Europa League, they fell foul of having missed that Uefa deadline regarding multi-ownership rules.
Palace co-owner John Textor also owned a major stake in French side Lyon, who had also qualified for the same Uefa competition through their league placing.
But as nothing had been done on Companies House in time, the Eagles were demoted to the Conference League, despite an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).
And the team taking their place in the Europa League? Nottingham Forest.
Why did the Marinakis-Nuno relationship break down?
What seems clear is the manager and owner's breakdown happened over the summer.
BBC Sport has been told one source of disconnect between the pair was the suggestion Nuno has not fully been involved in the club's recruitment.
The Forest boss said: "I always had a very good relationship with the owner - last season we were very close and spoke on a daily basis.
"This season it is not so well [between us], but I always believe that dialogue is important because my concern is the squad and the season we have ahead of us. Our relationship has changed and we are not as close.
"I think everybody at the club should be together, but this is not the reality."
But weeks later the manager was sacked, with the club releasing an 80-word statement shortly after midnight.
"Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espirito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach.
"The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024-25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club.
"As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey."
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