Leeds United take legal action over rogue Cellino poster

In what amounted to a massive amount of chutzpah and with cojones the size of a Blue Whale, anti-Cellino group ‘Time to Go Massimo’ placed a poster outside Elland Road’s East Stand today.

This wasn’t any poster. This was a poster aimed directly at Massimo Cellino and counted all the broken promises that he has allowed to slide since taking the reins at Elland Road.

CellinoWhilst some Leeds fans rejoiced in what was essentially a prod in the eye for Massimo Cellino, those rallying to his weakening clarion call took up his defence against those proclaiming themselves the ‘unblinkered majority.’ However, the fiery Italian is one thing and one thing above all others – he’s unpredictable. That unpredictablility makes him another thing, dangerous; he is dangerous to the point of irrationality at times. A fizzing ball of vitriol that spits and hisses when cornered, often this being the time that he is most dangerous of all.

There’s one thing that you should never do and that is poke a sleeping bear.

But the commissioners of the poster, the aforementioned ‘Time to Go Massimo’ group, have done just that – the poster being a giant stick with which the bear has been poked and prodded. Massimo has awoken and is a bit grizzly.

Faced with the glaring lucidity of his broken promises staring him in the face, almost mocking him, Cellino has taken the one recourse to action that wounded men do – he’s called in the law, as revealed in the following tweet from the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Phil Hay.

Futher Hay tweets go on to reveal more, including that a letter from solicitors Ward Hadaway on behalf of Leeds United and Cellino states that it [the placing of the poster], “clearly amounts to harrassment of Mr Cellino.” Other tweets develop the content of the letter in more detail with one tweet saying, “quotations on the poster” accompanied by an image of Mr Cellino with a red cross through an image of his face is “offensive and distressing.” A further Hay tweet also reveals that the grounds for the letter asking for the removal of the poster is that the advert breaches “Protection From Harrassment Act 1997” and also that an initial request to company City Ads Yorkshire for it’s removal was turned down on grounds of “freedom of speech.”

Ward Hadaway, according to Hay, have also threatened to take the matter to higher authorities including the Advertising Standards Authority and even the police should that recourse be needed. They have also asked City Ads Yorkshire to reveal the details of the peoplewho organised/paid for the poster to be displayed in such a prominent position.

No doubt this particular case will rumble on tomorrow when no doubt more details will emerge.

Update:

It seems that the correspondence between Ward Hadaway and City Ads Yorkshire has been robust enough for the advertising agency to reconsider their position somewhat.

imageThis was the scene this morning with the offending Cellino poster now removed.

Previous Article
Mick McCarthy

Ipswich injuries spark loan deal

Next Article
, New hope as York City forgotten men return

New hope as York City forgotten men return

Related Posts