The law, while clearly worded, depends on the interpretation of "operator" where the aircraft is not operated under an AOC.
The aviation authorities interpret this in many ways, incorrectly including the "pilot" (Ireland,
see here, point 13), and they are the ones who will take you to court, unfortunately.
If they get it wrong, no wonder the pilot / owner / operator community get it wrong, I can't really blame them.
It becomes a bit more interesting with regard to Part OPS, where any "operator" of a twin turboprop or any jet effectively needs a mini-AOC. For anyone flying around in a privately owned Jet or King Air, a lot of money hinges on that, and I would expect "workarounds" such as special operator structures outside the EU to be created here because there is much more money at stake than for an individual pilot's licence, and they can pay for the legal advice needed.