Evangelos Marinakis’ public outburst at full time when Nottingham Forest played Leicester City has overshadowed a rather important update about his role at the club.
Marinakis suspended his involvement in Forest at the end of April, placing the club in the hands of a blind trust to comply with UEFA rulings over owning multiple clubs in the same European competition.
After Olympiacos secured their place in the Champions League, it was expected that Marinakis would return to Forest if they missed out on Champions League football, as the rules don’t stretch to competing in different UEFA competitions.
In the meantime, though, it is this blind trust set-up that Forest are operating with, but Marinakis has found a clever loophole that directly led to the scenes at the City Ground on Sunday.
Evangelos Marinakis finds loophole in UEFA blind trust rules
Gary Neville was furious with Marinakis for his actions in arguing with Nuno Espirito Santo after the full-time whistle, but one aspect of the remarkable events was not quite covered.
Given the nature of his new, reduced role at the club, how exactly was Marinakis allowed full access to the pitch? A report from The Guardian has provided the answer, and it’s rather clever from the Forest owner.
The report said: “Marinakis’s Forest shares are now managed by several trustees who were appointed directors of the club last month – Matthew Shayle, Matthew Cain and Timothy Osborne – although Marinakis was not actually on the board in the first place.
“The Guardian has learned, however, that there are no conditions in the blind trust arrangement sanctioned by UEFA to restrict Marinakis’s attendance at matches, deny him access to any part of the stadium or to prevent him speaking to the manager or players.
“A source close to the 57-year-old added that he will continue offering opinions and guidance in a personal capacity.”
Clearly a victory for the particularly hands-on Marinakis, who will be able to make his presence known at the club even with the blind trust arrangement, which brings into question what the purpose of a blind trust actually is.
Football finance expert explains Nottingham Forest’s blind trust
Marinakis’ ambition for the club knows no bounds as Forest plan to spend serious money in the summer, but there remain questions about whether and how this new boardroom structure will impact anything.
Speaking on The Price of Football podcast, finance expert Kieran Maguire explained the workings of a blind trust system.
He said: “A blind trust is a separate company which operates in control of the football club on a day-to-day basis. It’s got to be the case […] that Marinakis is not involved in the running of Nottingham Forest.
“[…] The aim of it [a blind trust] is to make it independent of the previous owner. So in the case of Nottingham Forest, effectively, what we’ve got to say is that the relationship between Marinakis and Forest is that of a blind person; he cannot see what is taking place in the boardroom and cannot be involved in terms of decision making.”
Of course, Marinakis will fully trust those he has transferred control to and will likely take the control back at the earliest opportunity. For now, though, the Forest owner will have to settle for making his feelings known at the matches rather than in the boardroom.
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