Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe makes Rangers return after 49ers exit
The Leeds United chairman spoke openly about his involvement with Rangers this summer.
Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe has returned to a key role at Rangers just six months after stepping down.
Marathe was previously vice-chairman at the Scottish Premiership club but left that role at the end of February. He told the YEP in June that the decision was made to avoid Rangers and Leeds potentially breaching UEFA rules regarding multi-club ownership (MCO) but his involvement at Ibrox remained.
Quizzed on his initial Ibrox boardroom exit by the YEP, Marathe said: "Yeah, so same involvement. very involved and very interested and very passionate about it. Also, there were the MCO [multi-club ownership] rules that prevented official board status for the moment - that could change back, but very much still involved.”
Earlier this month, Marathe left his role as vice president of football operations at San Francisco 49ers to focus on Leeds and Rangers, having spent 25 years working for the NFL team. He remains chairman at Elland Road and has now made an official return to the Ibrox boardroom.
A filing on Companies House shows Marathe has returned to Rangers as vice-chairman, reclaiming the role he stepped away from back in February. The 48-year-old’s position at Elland Road is not subject to change as a result of the Ibrox comeback.
Marathe’s initial decision to step down from his Rangers role came after talks with UEFA regarding multi-club ownership. At that point, Leeds were still in the FA Cup and made it to the semi-finals, with victory in that game and the subsequent final set to secure them a Europa League place.
That could have brought issues surrounding MCO to the surface with Rangers also on course for a Europa League place. Last season, FA Cup winners Crystal Palace suffered demotion to the Europa Conference League due to multi-club ties with Olympique Lyonnais.