February 24, 2026
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Clarification of Governance disputes at Eagle Football
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The below timeline is provided to help the public understand the conflicting filings of documentation at Companies House in the United Kingdom. Companies House is an open-access public filing system, in England, that can be affected and manipulated by competing interests.
In the case of Eagle Football, the Companies House listings are now showing the effects of differing viewpoints regarding the governance of Eagle Football. As the majority shareholder of Eagle Football Holdings Limited, and the sole director of Eagle Football Holdings Midco Limited, which is the sole shareholder of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited, Mr. Textor objects to the filing of frivolous documents by third-party lenders, with Companies House, which seek to disenfranchise the shareholder rights of the Eagle Group companies, as clearly established through the true governing documents of such entities, the Articles of Association (which are clearly accessible for review at Companies House).
January 25, 2026: Textor’s termination of Eagle Bidco Directors
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On Sunday at 9:15pm EST, as the sole director of the sole shareholder of Eagle Bidco, I elected to terminate the directorships of two highly qualified and professional board members, to protect the interests of all stakeholders of Eagle Football. These gentlemen, Mr. Hemen Tseayo and Mr. Stephen Welch, were previously asked to stand between at least two competing interests (the shareholders and the lender) and help guide an attractive and viable multi-club organization through a civil war that would seek to undermine our historic and unprecedented success in transforming insolvent clubs into historic and globally recognized champions. (Link to Termination Notice)
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Unfortunately, mid-January discovery of a secret and actively concealed ‘Side Agreement’ (between Michele Kang, Ares, and a single director of Eagle Bidco) revealed changes to corporate governance and control at Olympique Lyonnais that were not only unauthorized and undisclosed, but were also clear violations of French law. This extremely detailed Side Agreement created an alternate board of directors at EFG/OL which would work closely with Ms. Kang to govern EFG/OL, without the involvement of its 93% owner Eagle Football Holdings, and without the knowledge of the actual board of directors of EFG/OL. Moreover, this ‘shadow board’ and effective change-of-control transaction was not disclosed to the public shareholders, as would be required of any publicly listed (stock exchange) company under French law. (Link to Correspondence re Side Agreement) and (Link to AMF Notice)
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In response to this discovery of an illegal side agreement, I acted to consolidate control of the Eagle Bidco board of directors and address the two most serious challenges to our organization and to our communities. So I elected to terminate all independent directors of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco, to address these issues:
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Firstly, it is clear that our published financials for EFG are materially incorrect, based on desired outcomes, and not based on the facts and circumstances of historical transactions. Certain of the errors relate to an unacceptable level of honest mistakes, while other errors are a result of poor confirmation work by the company’s statutory auditors. Unfortunately, it would also appear that material errors occurred as a result of heavy bias, in favor of a malicious restructuring agenda that should have never been allowed to develop. (Link to Correspondence re Audit Issues)
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Secondly, the discovery of the ‘Side Agreement’ which for several months actively concealed, better explains the unexpected separation of OL from the successful sporting model of Eagle Football, to which Ms. Kang, only days earlier, had sworn allegiance. The result of this decision is a now an unfortunate civil war that has turned a caring, collaborative and incredibly successful sporting organization (chasing trophies in every market) into a financial quagmire. The financially strongest club, in Brazil, which sent both cash and players to the now-Europa league front-runner, has been left to drift, with large intra-group receivables unpaid, at the direction of a ‘secret board’ in France that is itself an obvious violation of French law.
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My decision to remove Ares-endorsed Mr. Welch and Mr. Tseayo from the Board of Directors was not a decision to end our professional relationship. It was necessary to strengthen that relationship, and the company itself, as I had proposed to appoint each of them to the board of directors of EFG/OL to address at least the above two crises. I had also proposed to add another Ares-endorsed professional, the Eagle Bidco CFO, Mr. Justin Le Fort, plus one other financially strong individual, who previously served on the board of EFG/OL.
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Contrary to sensational reports of an attempted coup, my vote card would have removed a small number of directors who were likely to be adverse the 90% shareholder, and appoint: Mr. Stephen Welch, Mr. Hemen Tseayo, Mr. Justin Le Ford (all Ares-endorsed in important leadership positions), plus one Eagle director who previously served well on the board (and has proposed to invest significant capital in the club).
The termination of these two directors, now showing as ‘resigned’ on Companies House listings, was entirely driven by my need to address the two critical issues outlined above. Their contribution to Eagle Football was greatly appreciated and I sincerely regret that the rights of the 93% shareholder of EFG/OL were ignored and that we were not able to achieve proper representation on the board of EFG/OL, at the general assembly, and have them appointed to the board at EFG/OL.
January 27, 2026: Ares attempt to Change the Board of Eagle Bidco
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On January 27, 2026, Ares sent correspondence to John Textor and to Companies House claiming that Ares had the authority to remove Mr. Textor, as director and of Eagle Bidco and, further, claiming that Mr. Tseayo and Mr. Welch would be re-appointed to the board, in replacement of John Textor. This letter was sent to Companies House, without legal foundation, and without the approval of Mr. Tseayo and Welch. (Link to Textor Response)
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Under UK law, it is not possible to appoint directors, without their consent, so this letter was not credible and was ineffective.
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Companies House will, at some point in time, publish this termination of Mr. Textor, notwithstanding the fact that Ares acted without legal foundation to do so.
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January 28, 2026: Mr. Welch and Mr. Tseayo dispute Ares Companies House filings and confirm their Resignations
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On January 28, 2026, Mr. Stephen Welch sent correspondence to Companies House, which was signed by Mr. Tseayo, making it clear that Ares had no authorization to propose the two former directors for re-appointment to the board of Eagle Bidco, demonstrating clearly that Ares had made false claims in correspondence to Companies House. The two directors made it clear that they did not intend to come back to the board of Eagle Bidco, and that the letter from Ares should be disregarded as it related to their re-appointment. (Link to Welch Correspondence)
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January 29, 2026: Textor re-appoints himself as a Director of Eagle Bidco
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On January 29, 2026, John Textor, as the sole director of the sole shareholder of Eagle Bidco, in the abundance of caution (in case there was any doubt about his standing on the board) exercised his rights under the Articles of Association to re-appoint himself to the board of directors of Eagle Bidco. (Link to Appointment Documentation)
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Today: Eagle Group Boards of Directors Clarification
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The dispute between Ares and Mr. Textor, regarding control of the board of Eagle Bidco, will continue.
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"Mr. Textor, as the sole director of the sole shareholder of Eagle Football Holdings Bidco Limited disputes any appointment by Ares Capital Corp to the Board of Directors of Eagle Bidco.​​​​"
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"Mr. Textor further has demanded the termination of the Side Agreement, between Ms. Kang and Ares, which purports to govern Eagle Football Group (Olympique Lyonnais) in place of the established governance by the board of directors of EFG and the shareholders agreement between Eagle Bidco and Holnest. The AMF has been notified of this obvious violation of market disclosure rules and French law, and we fully expect the AMF to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this undisclosed agreement."
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There is no dispute between the parties regarding the board of directors of Eagle Midco, the parent company of Eagle Bidco, where Mr. Textor remains the only director. (Link to Eagle Midco Director Listing)
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There is no dispute regarding the board of Eagle Football Holdings Limited, which is the 100% owner of Eagle Midco and the Eagle Group companies. Mr. Textor remains the majority shareholder of Eagle Football Holdings, where he has appointed a strong majority of the current members of the board of directors. (Link to Eagle Holdings Director Listing)
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Inquiries:
Eagle Football Holdings Limited