Evangelos Marinakis pauses Nottingham Forest involvement to avoid multi-club rule breach

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has paused his control of the club in preparation for their potential UEFA Champions League involvement.

Forest currently occupy sixth in the Premier League standings but possess a game in hand on those above them as they attempt to secure a top-five finish which would secure their seat at the UEFA Champions League table next season.

If Nuno Espirito Santo's men accomplish a UEFA Champions League berth, they will likely be accompanied by another of Marinakis' enterprises, Olympiacos.

The Greek outfit wrapped up the Greek Super League title to book their place amongst Europe's elite for the subsequent campaign, which is an issue for Marinakis in light of UEFA's strict rules concerning multi-club ownership models.

UEFA Article 5 states that no individual or entity can have control or decisive influence over more than one club participating in the same UEFA competition.

Clubs which are found to be in violation of this rule will be expelled from the competition.

In preparation for this, documents filed at Companies House display Marinakis has ceased to become a "person with significant control" of NF Football Investments Limited, the holding company that owns Forest.

Pittville One Limited has now been officially listed as a person with significant control.

It is hoped this decision will ensure that the City Ground outfit do not contravene UEFA's rules. It's not yet been determined what the alteration means for Marinakis' involvement with the club.

The Greek businessman and investor became the majority shareholder of Forest in May 2017 and oversaw the club's return to the Premier League in 2022.

In addition to owning Forest and Olympiacos, Marinakis has also invested in Portuguese outfit Rio Ave.

Marinakis has owned Olympiacos since 2010, while his purchase of Rio Ave was completed in November 2023.

Jaquob Crooke

• Nottingham Forest F.C.
• Premier League
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