Massimo Cellino: Leeds still waiting on takeover decision

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Elland Road, home of Leeds UnitedImage source, Empics

Leeds United's owners are still waiting for a decision from the Football League on Massimo Cellino's proposed takeover of the club.

Cellino heads Eleonora Sports, which agreed to buy a 75% stake in Leeds from Gulf Finance House Capital in February.

That takeover was put in doubt earlier this week when the 57-year-old Italian was found guilty of failing to pay import duty on a yacht.

GFH wanted an announcement on Thursday but nothing has been forthcoming.

Last week, the Football League said it planned to make a decision by Sunday.

Despite GFH's unhappiness with the delay, the club's managing director, David Haigh, said he had been "in regular contact" with the Football League "throughout the whole process".

He added that the chief executive, Shaun Harvey, and other League officials had been "extremely helpful every step of the way".

The club are also thought to be unhappy with the takeover bids submitted by the Sport Capital and Together Leeds groups, which they believe were designed to stop Cellino's efforts.

The Cagliari owner has been financially supporting the Championship club for around two months but revealed last week that he was reluctant to continue to do so until a decision over his takeover was reached.

It is understood Cellino has invested £6m in Leeds so far.

The Elland Road side, who face struggling Millwall on Saturday, are 15th in the table and have lost their last three games.

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