Shels owner Acun Ilicali defends multi-club model

Shelbourne's new owner Acun Ilicali defended the multi-club model of ownership amid criticism from his League of Ireland rivals and stressed that they would not seek to impose a style of play on manager Damien Duff.

Ilicali, a renowned businessman and media owner in his native Turkey, acquired control of Championship outfit Hull City last year, and spent the first half of 2023 seeking to add a second club to his stable.

Yesterday afternoon, he gave his first Dublin press conference as majority shareholder at Shelbourne, a club which he described as a "hidden treasure".

Having stressed that his objective was to build a Shelbourne capable of competing in Europe and that the club would not merely serve as a feeder club of Hull, Ilicali also strongly defended the multi-club model.

This week, Bohemians CEO Daniel Lambert said that the multi-club model had the potential to "destroy" smaller leagues like the League of Ireland and said FIFA needed to enact measures to combat it.

Appearing initially baffled by the objections raised to the multi-club approach, Ilicali responded: "I mean, for example, if Manchester City owns a club in Turkey, I would be very happy.

"Because it means that in the Turkish league, it's an advantage in that we can see better players and a good football philosophy in Turkey.

"If you ask me, it's an advantage for the country (in question).

"Of course, I do respect other opinions, that some people don't like it. This is life. We cannot always think the same."

Shelbourne vice-chairman Andrew Doyle - who has served as chairman for the past few years - added, "the only potential issue with multi-club models is when two teams play in the same competition.

"I actually spoke to Dan about this during the week and I told