WAYNE Rooney’s Derby have been plunged back to the brink after the EFL won its appeal to find the Rams guilty of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
Just three days after the comeback draw against Sheffield Wednesday that kept Derby in the Championship, they are again staring at a potential points deduction that would consign them to League One.
The final decision will be made by an independent panel, which will rule whether any punishment should be imposed for this season or next term.
But while the possibility of the panel imposing its penalty immediately is a real one, it is more likely that doing so after the season has finished will be deemed unfair to Derby, the club’s fans and supporters.
Derby were initially hit with two FFP charges in January 2020.
The first accused the club of breaching the league’s cap on losses, which they had avoided by the £81m sale of the ground to a company set up by then-owner Mel Morris.
Derby were also accused of rule breaches with regard to the valuation of players and the “amortisation” of that value over contract lengths.
In August, the club were cleared of the first charge and received a “reprimand” for the second offence.
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But the EFL appealed against the second findings and have now won that battle, opening the door to sanctions being applied immediately.
Any significant points deduction would see Derby, who survived by a single point, being relegated and Wycombe handed a reprieve.
The Buckinghamshire club have threatened legal action unless Derby are punished, while the Rams have pledged to fight any attempts to impose a points deduction for this season.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
