Has Marinakis always been in control of Nottingham Forest?

Following a disagreement with owner Evangelos Marinakis, Nuno Espirito Santo’s future as manager of Nottingham Forest is uncertain.

In order to comply with Uefa’s multi-club ownership regulations, the Greek businessman stopped being a “person with significant control” at the club in April.

What’s going on then, exactly?

Forest was just two points away from third place on April 29 and was actively competing for the Champions League.

According to Companies House, the government body that maintains the UK’s register of companies, Marinakis no longer holds any office at the club.

The company’s standard, curt statement read, “Cessation of Evangelos Marinakis as a person of significant control,” to signal the end of his employment with the owner of the City Ground club, NF Football Investments Limited.

A one-page document that had been approved and filed electronically accompanying it was also present.

What is the cause? Olympiakos, a Greek team that is also scheduled to compete in the Champions League, is also under Marinakis’ control.

State clubs with the same ownership cannot participate in the same European competition, according to Uefa rules.

Marinakis therefore had to avoid being listed as someone who had significant control over Forest, at least in theory.

A club source at the time stated to the BBC that Marinakis remained the club’s owner and was still committed to the Premier League.

Marinakis may once more become a “person of control” if Forest does not make it to the Champions League.

After conceding to them at home against Leicester on May 11th, their hopes of playing in Europe’s elite club competition were undermined by a 2-2 draw in the match. In fact, he went on to speak with Nuno on the pitch.

Forest eventually placed seventh in the Uefa Conference League before being promoted to the Europa League (more on that to follow soon).

Olympiakos did advance to the Champions League, moving seven points clear of the Greek Super League’s leaders.

Marinakis could once more be listed as the owner of both clubs because there was no conflict in Uefa’s eyes.

The company’s website updated on June 12th with the notification that Evangelos Marinakis would be in significant control on June 6, 2025.

If Uefa’s regulations are meant to end multi-club ownership, they only appear to accomplish that on paper.

However, Kieran Maguire, a renowned expert on football finance, claims Marinakis complied completely within the rules and did not do anything wrong.

Mr. Marinakis placed his shares in a “blind trust” to transfer them. He had no say in executive decision-making as long as the blind trust was accepted, Maguire told BBC Sport.

“Looking at the outcome, Forest did not reach the Champions League, which meant they had no chance of facing Olympiakos in the same competition. The blind trust was thus disbanded, and Mr. Marinakis took back control of both clubs.

“Most commentators expressed concern about the fact that during the blind trust, when, in theory, Mr. Marinakis had conversations with manager Nuno Espirito Santo, on the pitch and in conversation with him,” said one commentator.

No rules were broken despite questions raised. From a legal perspective, the trust was established, which was sufficient for Uefa.

Clubs must demonstrate compliance with Uefa’s multi-club ownership regulations by March 1st.

Even though Forest ended up in Companies House after this point, it ultimately didn’t matter because they didn’t compete against Olympiakos in the same level of competition.

However, another Premier League team did not receive the same treatment.

Crystal Palace, who has never competed in one of the biggest Uefa competitions before, did not anticipate being in Europe.

So they broke the Uefa deadline regarding multi-ownership rules when they won the FA Cup final over Manchester City and were declared eligible for the Europa League.

Additionally, Lyon, who had also qualified for the same Uefa competition with their league placing, had a significant stake in the palace co-owner, John Textor.

The Eagles were later reinstated to the Conference League because there had never been anything done at Companies House, despite an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

The manager and owner’s disagreement appears to have occurred over the summer.

Nuno’s claim that he had not been fully involved in the club’s recruitment is one of the two’s main points, according to BBC Sport.

The owner and I have a very close relationship, the Forest manager said on Friday, adding that we speak frequently and frequently.

I always think dialogue is necessary because my concern is the squad and the season that lies ahead because [it is not so well]between us] this season. We are no longer as close as we used to be.

“I believe everyone at the club should be together, but that is not the case.”

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