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Posted on 17th January 2020
Derby County are the latest Championship club to be charged by the EFL for allegedly breaching their profit and sustainability rules.
The action against the Rams comes a week after Birmingham City were charged by the league for attempting to sidestep financial fair play rules by selling St Andrew’s to one of the owner’s subsidiaries.
Derby County are alleged to have done the same last year, when Pride Park was sold to chairman Mel Morris’s subsidiaries for £80m just two days before the club was due to file its accounts.
Without the sale, Derby would have exceeded the amount of losses allowed under the EFL’s financial fair play rules.
The EFL said: “Following a review of Derby County’s profitability and sustainability submissions, the EFL has charged the club for recording losses in excess of the permitted amounts provided for in EFL regulations for the three-year period ending 30 June 2018.
“The club will now be referred to an independent disciplinary commission, which will hear representations from the EFL and Derby.”
Derby County could face a wide range of sanctions including possible points deductions. Last season Birmingham City received a nine-point deduction following excessive losses.
The sale of club assets, particularly grounds being sold to subsidiaries of owners, is a controversial practice – one which the FSA would like to see prohibited under our proposals for the reform of football governance.
At the end of last year MPs on the DCMS Select Committee backed these ideas in their recommendations to Government – read more here.
The EFL has released a detailed statement covering Derby County’s current administration, saying it “wishes to clarify its position on several points, which are addressed by way of a series of questions and answers with the EFL chief executive Trevor Birch”.
Newport County are the latest club to recognise the rich diversity of their supporter-base with a My Club, My Shirt-style portrait exhibition.
Derby County’s administrators have been given an extra month to provide proof of how the Championship club will be funded for the rest of the season.
The Government has urged for “pragmatism from all parties” in the on-going battle to save Derby County and, once again, acknowledged the need for an independent regulator to prevent such collapses happening in future.
