trousers

Fabrice has been fairly quiet on here recently, to be fair....

Alas, not... the EFL rules state that the 14 days can be reduced as they see fit... which begs the question: why set an arbitrary timescale in the first place if they can set whatever timescale they like on a case by case basis....? Just another indication of how woolly their rulebook is in places...

https://www.eureporter.co/lifestyle/media/2025/10/21/european-media-dragan-solak-loses-control-of-united-group-in-court-defeat/ Dragan Šolak’s (pictured) turbulent bid to regain control of United Group, the telecom conglomerate in Southeastern Europe where he remains minority shareholder, has ended in decisive defeat. Media outlets across Europe report last week’s ruling by the Amsterdam Enterprise Chamber as the final chapter in the billionaire’s struggle to cling to influence over the company he once dominated. As Bloomberg reported, “the ousted founder of… United Group BV failed to convince Dutch judges he could bring an unfair dismissal lawsuit.” The court in Amsterdam ruled his case inadmissible, rejecting his attempt to initiate an investigation into the company’s governance and leadership. The decision, Bloomberg noted, represents “the latest legal salvo stemming from a management fallout at the European telecom and media firm.” Šolak - who still owns 36% in the Group - had asked the court to appoint an independent investigator into what he described as alleged “abuse of governance” by the company’s new management. But the judges found that the dispute was not within their jurisdiction, as United Group’s parent company is registered in Luxembourg. Leading Dutch title Het Financieele Dagblad reported that Solak “has failed in his attempt to involve the Enterprise Chamber in the conflict surrounding the company.” The article pointed that Solak has tried to “involve Serbian politics in his campaign” and emphasised United Group’s position that there is “no management crisis whatsoever, but rather a fabrication by Solak to regain his influence and income at United Group.” The Times of London column section, entitled ‘Dragan roars in vain’, also covered the “failed bid to install a court-appointed representative to investigate” the company Solak was ousted from in June. The paper added that the ruling leaves Šolak “unsuccessful in his legal action against the European media conglomerate United Group”. According to Mobile Europe, earlier this summer the court rejected Solak’s attempt to fast-track his action, denying him an urgent intervention in July 2025. Greek business daily ProtoThema called last week’s outcome “a judicial victory for United Group,” signalling a stabilisation of the group after months of internal turbulence and legal drama. The outlet underlined that the decision “marks a clear end to the founder’s influence” and “confirms the strength of the company’s governance under new leadership”. United Group, in a statement quoted by Bloomberg, said the verdict “confirms what has been clear all along: this was never a genuine governance dispute, but another in a long line of distractions orchestrated by Mr. Šolak for his own ends.” The company added that “the court was able to see through it,” an apparent reference to a campaign by Šolak to regain his influence through litigation and media pressure. For Šolak, the loss is more than legal - it represents a dramatic decline in both his corporate and personal influence. Once hailed as the Balkan media mogul and self-styled defender of press freedom, he now finds himself shut out of the company that made his fortune. Solak’s insistence to the Times that “this has no impact on Sport Republic or Southampton” - the football club he owns - did little to shift attention from his mounting setbacks. Whether Šolak will pursue “other competent jurisdictions,” as his family office told Bloomberg, remains to be seen. It does appear to be contradicted by a subsequent statement issued by Solak and covered by N1, where he expressed his “hope that the new management delivers the same exceptional results for all stakeholders, as we did for all those years.” Perhaps this statement is a recognition that each successive defeat further isolates him while strengthening BC Partners’ position and reinforcing the legitimacy of United Group’s current management. For a company that has spent the past year under intense scrutiny, the ruling offers closure and the chance to move forward. For Šolak, it may mark the start of a more uncomfortable chapter: that of a founder-turned-outsider, decisively shut out from the empire he built.

Middlesbrough all the way for me

As has already been pointed out, what is stopping the club announcing that he's been suspended "pending investigation"... surely that would send out the right message (to both fans and the media) at this moment in time....?

F*** my old boots... I agree with the nobel Lord!

Any danger of seeing him apply these business skills at Saints any time soon?

"Yeah, but the rules is diff'rent now... innit?"

We'll obviously never agree (which is fine) but there was no need to "turn back time" if they'd intervened in a timely manner in the first place.

Yep... A 'proportional' sporting sanction was available to the EFL but I'm guessing it didn't get Gibson's blessing* (*That last bit is banter, for any 'unhinged comment' inspectors looking in... There is of course absolutely no chance that Gibson was influencing proceedings... )

2:30 ?

Anyone got a sick bucket for all the Pep fawning on Sky Sports News at the moment? No doubt they'll mention the 115 charges on his watch any moment now....

Ha! Now there's a Hollywood story in the making... 😂

Yeah, fair point... I guess one has to draw a line on this hypothesis somewhere!

The obvious answer is 'yes' of course. IMO, the "fairer" sporting sanction would have been for the first leg to have been awarded 3-0 to Middlesbrough (before the second leg was played), but then we get into discussions of how ineptly the EFL (c/o Gibson) have handled the whole situation...

Yep, love him or hate him, someone of Gerrard's profile would change the narrative somewhat and take some of the heat out of 'Spygate'... But there's obviously no danger of Sport Republic doing anything logical....

Guardiola now officially available....

Just waiting for one of the journos to ask Tuchel if he's spied on any of his World Cup opponents yet....

Sadly, probably spot on

Yep, I'd take that

Tuchel saying that he's only picked "unselfish" players...

One word: gravitas

Just because there wasn't a "fairer" sanction available, doesn't necessarily mean the sanction given was "fair"....

Another German manager trying to be too 'clever'...?

Maybe this is an opportunity for Ankersen to actually do something beneficial for the club at long last... One assumes they are still on good terms?