Consortium including Bezos buys Liverpool stake, Sheffield United face winding-up order, Graeme Dott on trial

Full account

The English Football League has opened an inquiry into Sheffield United after allegations that the club's American owners restructured its parent company to sidestep a £35m debt owed to the previous owner, Saudi businessman Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad. COH Sports, fronted by Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, agreed to buy the Championship club from Abdullah for roughly £100m in December 2024 and paid an initial instalment of about £30m soon afterwards, but is said to have fallen behind on subsequent payments, missing two further deadlines this year.

Abdullah's investment vehicle, United World, has responded by lodging a winding-up petition against COH Sports in the High Court and raising the matter with both the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator. Correspondence sent to the league alleges that shares in the acquisition vehicle, COH Sports Bidco Limited, were quietly moved into a newly formed Delaware entity, 1919 Partners LLC, which Sheffield United named in a June board announcement as the club's new parent company. Abdullah's lawyers argue this manoeuvre calls into question whether the individuals behind it should still be regarded as fit and proper owners under EFL rules, given they were vetted on the basis of the original ownership structure. United's camp does not dispute that roughly £35m remains outstanding and acknowledges the corporate restructuring took place, but maintains the two issues are unconnected; talks about converting the debt into a stake in the club have so far failed to produce a settlement. The EFL says it has sought explanations from those involved and that the matter remains under review.

Separately, former world snooker champion Graeme Dott has gone on trial at the High Court in Glasgow accused of sexually abusing two children when they were of primary school age. The 49-year-old, who denies both charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour, faces allegations spanning 1993 to 1996 involving a girl and a further set of allegations from 2006 to 2010 involving a boy. Dott, who appeared in court in a dark suit, has pleaded not guilty throughout.

Jurors have already heard from one alleged victim, now a woman in her forties, who gave evidence from behind a screen describing several separate incidents of abuse, including being touched inappropriately during what was presented to her as a piggyback and, on another occasion, being kissed and touched after Dott suggested playing a game with her. The trial, being heard by Lord Harrower, is continuing and is expected to run for up to five days. No source material was supplied on the reported Bezos-led consortium's purchase of a Liverpool stake, so that element of the wider headline cannot be reported here without risking inaccuracy.

Where outlets differ

The Sheffield United story (understood to be a Guardian report, citing correspondence 'seen by the Guardian') goes into detailed financial and legal specifics — sums owed, corporate entities, and quotes from Abdullah's lawyers — while offering only United's brief, general denial that the debt and restructuring are linked.

The Graeme Dott report (an Independent piece) is a straightforward court dispatch focused on witness testimony and procedural facts (charges, dates, plea, judge), with no comment sought from or given by Dott's defence beyond the not-guilty plea.

No usable source text was provided for the Bezos/Liverpool stake element of the headline, so no comparison or detail could be drawn from it; this gap is flagged rather than filled with unsourced claims.

• www.theguardian.com
• www.the-independent.com