The paragraph in the EFL’s handbook that could scupper Sheffield Wednesday takeover | OneFootball

Fresh reports are casting even further doubt over whether approval will be given for the preferred bidders to buy the troubled Championship club.

Troubled Championship club Sheffield Wednesday will likely be mathematically relegated this weekend, but there could be even bigger storm clouds to form over Hillsborough.

On the pitch, Sheffield Wednesday are rapidly approaching a point of no return. Relegation from the Championship will most likely be sealed by the end of the weekend, and all the worse for the club's supporters, this weekend sees them make the short trip across Sheffield for the second Steel City Derby of the season.

But it says a lot about the state in which Dejphon Chansiri left the club when they were placed into administration in October that relegation from the Championship has been the least of Wednesday fans' worries over the course of 2025-26. The survival of the club has been at stake this season, and what their future could look like afterwards still hasn't been resolved.

A consortium fronted by the professional gambler and former Sheffield United consultant James Bord was announced as the preferred bidder for the club on Christmas Eve, but almost two months on, their bid is still being assessed by the EFL, and fresh reporting is now throwing another potential spanner into the works of the bid getting over the line.

A legal dispute has been raised against James Bord in a Nevada court

The Times has reported that James Bord is now subject to a legal dispute with a former business partner over investment in Córdoba, the second-tier Spanish football club.

According to papers lodged with a Nevada court on behalf of Jonathan Cohen as reported, it is alleged that Bord:

They report that Cohen has made seven claims against Bord, and that his legal team are seeking "punitive damages" against the prospective Sheffield Wednesday owner. They also report a statement from a spokesman on behalf of Bord describing the allegations as "a deeply upsetting matter", adding that no further comment will be made because the case is subject to legal proceedings.

Although unlikely, Bord's bid for Sheffield Wednesday could yet be derailed by latest allegations

The big question now facing Sheffield Wednesday fans is whether this court case will make any difference to the prospect of the club sold to Bord's consortium.

Any decision would have significant ramifications for the club. EFL rules are very firm about the ways in which a club can exit administration. They require the financial arrangement made to creditors to offer them a minimum return of 25p in the pound or face a 15-point deduction for the start of the following season. Bord's bid of £32.5 million was the only one received which met this threshold.

So attention turns to whether this case would be enough to disqualify his bid, and the answer to this question is that it could. The EFL set out a wide range of disqualifying conditions for potential owners in Appendix 3 of their handbook.

The majority of disqualifying conditions relate to criminal convictions, and the likelihood of a civil case - in particular one being heard in a foreign court - ending up being treated as one is low, but that's not to say that it's impossible.

The key section is paragraph 2.1.17 of appendix three, section six, which states that somebody could be disqualified from acting as a club director if "they are subject to any unsatisfied judgment or court order for payment of any monetary amount (provided all appeal rights have been exhausted)".

Clearly, this is not the case yet, with regard to the claim issued in Nevada, and there is no indication of when this case will be heard. But with the EFL having already been very clear that they would rather make the right decision than a quick one, it is possible that the authorities could choose to defer any final decision until they know the outcome.

It is entirely possible that this case will come to nothing, in terms of the decision-making process over whether Bord's bid for Sheffield Wednesday will be accepted. But the direction of travel over this bid over the last six weeks or so has not been encouraging. With ongoing concerns over the source of funding for the bid, it could yet be that everybody has to return to the drawing board, with regard to the future of this famous old club.