Nottingham Forest owner Marinakis gives up control of club
Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis has relinquished control of the Premier League club in order to avoid scuppering their Champions League qualification.
Marinakis has placed his Forest shares in a blind trust to ensure that he does not fall foul of Uefa rules preventing control of two teams in the same European competition.
Forest could return to the top five with four games to go when they meet Brentford on Thursday evening, while Olympiacos have just clinched a 48th Greek Super League title.
Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe took a similar approach last year with his stake in Nice when both teams qualified for the Europa League. United face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final first leg on Thursday night.
The change in role for Marinakis sees his co-owner, Sokratis Kominakis, return to the Forest board. As well as Olympiacos, the group controls Portuguese side Rio Ave.
Forest currently lie sixth in the Premier League but are just goal difference behind Chelsea, with the top five all receiving a place in next season’s Champions League.
A win at home to Brentford would hoist Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to third in the table, behind only champions Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal.
The Midlands outfit are former European champions but have not featured in the top-tier continental competition since it was rebranded in the 1990s.
Shipping magnate Marinakis bought Forest in 2017 and has presided over their return to the Premier League and re-emergence as a top-half club.
He has controlled Olympiacos since 2010, during which time they have won their domestic title 11 times and claimed a first European trophy, the Conference League, last year.