Former Leeds United owner Massimo Cellino has been suspended from all football activity for a period of 12 months and has been fined £100,000 by an FA Rule K Tribunal sitting as an Appeal Board.
These sanctions arise from breaches of The FA’s Football Agent Regulations relating to the transfer of Ross McCormack from Leeds to Fulham on 8 July 2014.
Cellino’s case was first heard before a Regulatory Commission in December 2016, which found him guilty of bringing the game into disrepute, banned him for 18 months and fined him £250,000.
Cellino appealed against that decision and his case was heard by an FA Appeal Board in January 2017, which upheld the decision of the Regulatory Commission on liability but reduced the ban to 12 months and the fine to £100,000.
Cellino challenged this decision by way of an FA Rule K Arbitration on grounds which included an allegation of apparent bias, on the basis that one member of the Appeal Board had been a member of The FA Council.
The FA disputed that contention but agreed to compromise the proceedings on the basis that Cellino’s appeal would be heard again by the Arbitration Tribunal, sitting as an FA Appeal Board.
That hearing took place on 27 July 2017. The Tribunal upheld the previous findings of the Regulatory Commission and imposed the sanctions set out above.
Written reasons of the Regulatory Commission and the Rule K Tribunal sitting as an Appeal Board can be found below.