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Leeds United: Probe is no problem - Bates
Leeds United say they are optimistic of having "no problem" with the Football League over the issue of who ultimately controls the club.
United are in the process of clarifying the ownership structure at Elland Road after the Football League wrote to them requesting clarification over the identity of the individuals behind Forward Sports Fund (FSF).
FSF – an off-shore company based in the Cayman Islands and administered in Switzerland – holds a 100 per cent stake in United and has done so since the club exited administration in the summer of 2007.
The identity of FSF's beneficiaries has never been revealed, though club chairman Ken Bates, chief executive Shaun Harvey and solicitor Mark Taylor were named as directors of Leeds at the time of the 2007 takeover.
The buy-out was sanctioned by the Football League after the governing body ran its fit and proper persons' test on the people named as United's owners, but the matter was revisited at a League board meeting earlier this month following allegations that Bates had no stake in Leeds and had claimed "in error" that he was a part-owner of the club.
Those allegations raised doubts about whether the owners confirmed by United two years ago do indeed have ultimate control over the club.
The Football League contacted Leeds asking for fresh details, but it has not made any comment on the matter since issuing a brief statement on October 8.
United, however, are confident that the information they have supplied will settle the matter conclusively. Neither the club nor the League are obliged to make that information public.
Bates told the YEP: "We don't think we'll have a problem with the Football League.
"We're a member club with a professional management team which is trading profitably. Seventy one other clubs are looking at us and wishing they were in our position."
The Football League was unavailable for comment when contacted by the YEP, but in a statement released almost three weeks ago, it said: "The board noted recent allegations made about the ownership of Leeds United Football Club.
"The league has written to the club seeking clarification. No further comment will be made on this matter until a response has been received."
The League's rules require that every "ultimate beneficial owner" of a member club with a shareholding of 30 per cent or more passes its fit and proper persons test before a takeover can be sanctioned.
The test was introduced in 2004 and was designed to guarantee standards of the integrity among club owners.
The Football League previously confirmed to the YEP that it received "F&PPT papers relating to Leeds United" when the 2007 takeover was completed.
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