Two Leeds United directors have made the decision following talks with UEFA.
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe has stepped down from his vice-chairman role at Scottish side Rangers.
Marathe was appointed onto the Rangers board last summer following a takeover by 49ers Enterprises, who are also majority shareholders of Leeds. The Whites chief was appointed as deputy to chairman Andrew Cavenagh.
According to multiple reports including from the BBC, Marathe has now stepped down from his role at Ibrox. Director Gene Schneur, who is also on the Leeds board, has made the same decision.
The decision for Marathe and Schneur is believed to have come following discussions with European football’s governing body, UEFA, surrounding multi-club ownership rules. Both will retain their Elland Road roles.
This weekend is the deadline for clubs to ensure they are compliant with UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, with non-compliance a potentially big problem. Should two such teams qualify for the same continental competition, one could end up losing their place.
2024/25 FA Cup winners Crystal Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Europa Conference League due to a multi-club breach. Previous stakeholder John Textor was also majority shareholder at Lyon who had qualified for the same competition, with the team lowest in their domestic league kicked out.
Rangers look set to qualify for European football in some capacity this season, be it the Champions League or Europa League. Leeds are a long way from competing for continental football in the league but could theoretically find themselves in the Europa League should they win the FA Cup.
The Whites face Norwich City in the fifth round early next month looking to make it into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2002/03. Victory over the Canaries would put Daniel Farke’s side within three more wins of a miraculous cup triumph.
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What are UEFA’s rules on multi-club ownership?
According to UEFA rules, no club participating in a European competition can ‘be involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition; or have any power whatsoever in the management, administration and/or sporting performance of any other club participating in a UEFA club competition.’
Simply put, clubs owned and influenced by the same person/entity cannot compete in the same UEFA European competition. Individuals can dilute their influence on one club to ensure it doesn’t meet the threshold, as Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis did last year.
European football’s governing body set a deadline of March 1, 2026 for clubs to show proof of multi-club ownership restructuring, with Marathe’s Rangers departure coming just two days before that deadline.
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