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      Wayne Rooney found out on TV Derby were going into administration with Championship club facing 24 point deduction

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      DERBY boss Wayne Rooney says he found out the club were going into administration on TV.The club announced on Friday that they had to file notice to appoint administrators with a failure to identify new owners.
      Rooney praised his side for continuing to be ‘professional’ despite the financial mess off the pitchCredit: GETTY IMAGES
      The effects of the coronavirus pandemic left the club with ‘no choice’ but to go into administration.
      And boss Rooney, 35, said he and his players found out watching Sky Sports.
      He told Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s home match with Stoke: “I’ve seen it on Sky.
      “I spoke to (chief financial officer) Stephen Pearce after but initially I saw it on the TV.
      “I have spoken to Stephen, I haven’t spoken with Mel. I am sure he has got other things on his mind.
      “The players had no information and they saw it on Sky as well.”

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      And as SunSport’s Alan Nixon exclusively revealed, the club have to pay Rooney and his players in days or see their points deduction spiral to at least 24 points.
      The Rams already have a three-point suspended punishment for late payments last season.
      The suspended punishment could kick in if Derby fail to find funds to pay this month’s pay.
      And that would go on top of the 12-point penalty for going into administration.
      Further Financial Fair Play charges are likely to add another nine points, bringing the points deduction up to an eye watering 24.
      An emotional but defiant Rooney vowed to stand by the club, fans and his players.
      Speaking after Saturday’s match, which Derby won 2-1, Rooney said: “We’re in for a tough week, I know that.
      I spoke to (chief financial officer) Stephen Pearce after but initially I saw it on the TV. Wayne Rooney
      “But to see the players putting that effort in and getting the three points was massive, and I can’t stress how proud I am of them players for that performance today.
      “I have to keep doing my job, keep preparing the players, getting them ready and again we’re going to have some tough moments, I know that, I understand that.
      “But I can’t ask for anything more than what the players have given me and I think those players will get a lot of credit for the performance and the attitude today and they deserve that.”
      Wayne Rooney’s Derby to be handed nine point deduction this season over FFP breaches sending them bottom of Championship More

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      Two Birmingham fans arrested over alleged racist abuse of Peterborough defender Nathan Thompson

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      TWO Birmingham fans have been arrested after an allegation of racist abuse aimed at Peterborough’s Nathan Thompson.The incident is alleged to have occurred during the second half of Saturday’s Championship fixture at the Weston Homes Stadium.
      Nathan Thompson reported the incident to referee Jarred GillettCredit: Getty
      England stars were subjected to vile racist abuse during the Euro’sCredit: PA
      Defender Thompson made a complaint of racist abuse from visiting fans to ref Jarred Gillett.
      Peterborough said in a statement: “Peterborough can confirm that two Birmingham supporters have been arrested following the allegation of racist abuse aimed towards defender Nathan Thompson during the second half of Saturday’s Championship fixture at the Weston Homes Stadium.
      “Thompson reported the incident straight away to the match official who spoke with the fourth official before the two individuals were identified and detained.
      “The football club condemns any form of discrimination and will work with the authorities.”
      Birmingham said in a statement the club has a “zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination”.

      The Blues added they “will continue to assist the police in their investigations” and would “firmly support the action taken against anyone found guilty of such abhorrent behaviour.”
      The Posh shook off the unsavoury incident to seal a 3-0 win over the visiting Birmingham.
      A Harlee Dean own-goal gave Peterborough the lead after just one minute.
      That was followed by a Jonson Clarke-Harris penalty before Jorge Grant wrapped up the scoring five minutes into the second half.
      It comes after three England stars who suffered racist abuse over their Euros penalty misses.
      Marcus Rashford, 21, Jadon Sancho, 20, and Bukayo Saka, 19, received vile online abuse after missing penalties in England’s Euro final shootout against Italy. 
      England captain Harry Kane, 27,  also backed the youngsters who failed to convert their penalties.
      ‘VILE ABUSE’
      The Spurs striker tweeted: “Three lads who were brilliant all summer had the courage to step up & take a pen when the stakes were high.
      “They deserve support & backing and not the vile racist abuse they’ve had since last night. If you abuse anyone on social media you’re not an England fan and we don’t want you.”
      Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel both condemned the online trolls, as well as calling for social media giants to do more.
      TV pundit and England legend Rio Ferdinand urged Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to take action.
      He tweeted: “You can bet ya last pound they would have sung the Raheem Sterling song almost bursting the veins in their bodies doing so.
      “But England lose and that joy and sense of being united immediately evaporates and our black players become the target.
      “Social media companies please can we come together in creating a way to protect people on your platforms please…. Our young heroes need your attention too!”
      England players were subjected to the abuse after stepping up to take a penaltyCredit: Getty
      There was an outpouring of support for the young starsCredit: Getty
      Wayne Rooney’s Derby to be handed nine point deduction this season over FFP breaches sending them bottom of Championship More

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      Wayne Rooney’s Derby heading into administration and twelve point deduction after owner notice amid financial crisis

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      WAYNE ROONEY’s Derby County are heading for administration after owner Mel Morris gave notice of the drastic move.The Rams will be slapped with a 12-point penalty when they go through the process which was started on Friday evening.
      Derby are heading into administrationCredit: Getty
      That massive blow for Rooney came when the club’s solicitors gave notice to the High Court that they will appoint an administrator.
      Derby confirmed the news with a statement on their official website, claiming: “This action was made necessary by a number of developments.
      “Last week, it became clear that the process which has been underway to identify a purchaser for the club likely would not be productive over the near term, despite the number of negotiations with credible parties.
      “Because the Covid-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on the revenues and profits of all of its businesses, the club has been unable to service its day-to-day financial obligations.
      “The directors had no choice but to make the tough decision to take this action and protect the club.”
      An EFL statement read: “With confirmation from Derby County Football Club that they have filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, the EFL can tonight confirm that the Club will be subject to an insolvency event under the terms of the EFL’s Regulations.

      As a result, the Club faces a 12-point deduction. 
      Once the EFL has received formal notification of the application, the deduction will be applied. 
      “The EFL will in due course engage in discussions with the relevant parties with the aim of achieving a successful outcome for the long-term future for the Club.
      “The League is disappointed with the comments made by the Club in respect of COVID lending facilities.
      “The EFL entered into a debt raise to provide its Clubs with access to funds that would support them in dealing with the impact of COVID and, as with any loan, this was subject to a timeframe and eligibility criteria which Derby County was unable to meet.”
      Rooney was preparing the team for a clash with Stoke City on Saturday as Morris took the ‘nuclear option’ after months of financial battles.

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      The players will have to be paid in administration as they are football creditors and they should have their money this month.
      However, other creditors face massive losses and Morris will lose control of the club he has run for years.
      Derby have pinned their administration on the Covid-19 pandemic, claiming to have taken a £20MILLION hit on their cash flow.
      The statement continued: “The irony is that the club’s financial forecasts show the emergence of a financially sustainable picture.
      “Absent the Covid-19 pandemic, we undoubtedly would have been able to trade through.”
      “However, the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and the unpredictability it has created represents too much of a strain.
      “As the Covid-19 pandemic and lock down tightened their grip, the club’s revenues and cash flow took a circa £20m hit.
      “This season, Covid-19 has continued to have a negative effect on the club’s revenues…
      Several Derby players are out of contract in January, including Phil JagielkaCredit: PA
      “We had significantly reduced our wage bill, but the major benefit of these reductions were not going to take effect until this season.”
      Derby also highlighted the complications of selling a football club during a pandemic and blamed the EFL for not helping them.
      They club added: “The Covid-19 lockdown also meant that we were unable to have face-to-face meetings with a number of potential purchasers who could not visit the stadium or training ground.
      “A planned sale of the club and stadium that was due to close in January 2020 collapsed when the EFL was coerced into challenging the stadium sale transaction, a charge that would be dismissed some nine months later.
      “The ongoing litigation and charges in regard to the P&S regulations and the protracted timetable for this to reach a resolution, added further uncertainty and made negotiations challenging.”
      “These issues also led the EFL to preclude the club from drawing down circa £8.3m of financial assistance, as was made available to all other Championship clubs in respect of settling PAYE liabilities, further aggravating our cash flow and ability to meet our financial obligations.
      “Even today, we await the EFL’s response in these matters. This response is important to the club, its supporters and also to any prospective purchaser.”
      Wayne Rooney will not realistically be able to keep Derby up this termCredit: PA
      Derby were already facing separate points penalties for old Financial Fair Play breaches and are yet to receive their punishment from the EFL.
      Rooney’s side are expected to be slapped with a nine-point penalty, meaning they could eventually be docked 21 points with more suspended.
      It is a hammer blow for the Manchester United icon, who put a brand new squad together in the summer despite the club’s impending doom.
      Many of those, such as Phil Jagielka and Sam Baldock, are only signed until January and may not be kept on following Friday evening’s news.
      Derby have also been threatened with a two-season transfer ban if they don’t settle their transfer debts by the end of September.
      The team have made a decent start to the Championship season – considering their situation – picking up seven points from seven games.
      But the cash-strapped club are now facing relegation to League One and a descent down the English football pyramid.
      Wayne Rooney’s Derby to be handed nine point deduction this season over FFP breaches sending them bottom of Championship More

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      Carnage at Stoke against Barnsley as THREE sent off at end including coach Rory Delap in mass bust-up at side of pitch

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      THREE coaches were sensationally sent off — after a mass brawl involving both benches in the closing minutes.Dean Holden and Rory Delap from Stoke’s backroom team were both dismissed, along with the Tykes coach Joseph Laumann.
      A mass brawl between the Stoke and Barnsley benches saw THREE coaches receive red cardsCredit: Getty
      The clash broke out after a coming-together between players on the pitchCredit: Getty
      The game boiled over when Barnsley boss Markus Schopp kept his foot on the ball with Stoke pushing hard for a winner.
      Holden then pushed Schopp to get the ball back — and that was the signal for both benches to jump in and square up to each other.
      Club security had to get involved to separate players and  there certainly looked to be more than one raised hand among the melee.
      That followed a red card five minutes earlier when Stoke’s Tommy Smith was sent off thanks to a reckless challenge on Claudio Gomes.
      But Barnsley keeper Brad Collins was the game’s hero as he denied Stoke a top-two spot with series of stops — including a penalty save.
      Michael O’Neill’s side took the lead through Sam Surridge after 17 minutes.
      The feud spilled over onto the sidelines as officials struggled to contain the angerCredit: Getty
      The ugly scenes played out at the end of a tense 1-1 Championship clashCredit: Getty

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      But a brilliant 25-yard free-kick from Cauley Woodrow just before half-time levelled the scores.  
      Stoke looked set to regain the lead in first-half stoppage time when referee Leigh Doughty said Collins had tripped Surridge as he pushed the ball past him.
      The Tykes players were furious at the decision but Mario Vrancic fired his spot-kick down the middle  and former Chelsea keeper Collins superbly pushed it on to the bar.
      And Collins was not finished there as he continued his heroics after the break.

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      Rory Delap was one of three coaches sent off by the refCredit: Getty
      Stoke player Tommy Smith was also given his marching ordersCredit: Getty
      He kept out a close-range effort from Surridge then made a double save — blocking a Vranic header and  Surridge from the rebound.
      Sub Sam Clucas should have scored Stoke’s second when he had a free header but put it wide.
      Collins denied Surridge yet again with eight minutes left.  But Smith’s dismissal saw Stoke lose momentum.
      West Brom confirm appointment of Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael on four-year contract at the Hawthorns More

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      Ferdinand stunned by Rooney’s manager skills and says Man Utd legend as boss is ‘total opposite’ as he was as player

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      MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand has waxed lyrical over Derby gaffer Wayne Rooney as he praised his managerial skills.The 42-year-old oversaw a Rams training session prior to the club’s 0-0 draw away at Championship table-toppers West Brom on Tuesday night.
      Manchester United icon Wayne Rooney has been Derby’s manager since November 2020
      Rooney’s former Red Devils team-mate Rio Ferdinand oversaw him during a Rams training session
      And Ferdinand has been left impressed with his ex-Red Devils team-mate, who has been Derby’s boss since November 2020.
      In his first season at Pride Park, Rooney guided the club to safety on the final day of the season following a 3-3 draw against Sheffield Wednesday.
      He has also had to deal with Derby’s cash problems in the background this term, with the team facing a possible two-season transfer ban.
      But Rooney has taken everything in his stride, with Ferdinand praising him for his ‘calm’ demeanour.
      Speaking from Derby’s training ground in a video released on his FIVE YouTube channel, Ferdinand was asked what he thought Rooney would be like as a manager.
      To which he said: “As a player, he was quiet sometimes, can be loud sometimes, can be brash, can be aggressive.

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      “He’s the total opposite. It’s mad, he’s the total opposite as a manager. There’s a respect level with the players, I think immediately you get that from these players as it’s Wayne Rooney.
      “But then you’ve got to prove yourself, and I think every player I’ve spoken to here, whether that be Curtis Davies, Ravel [Morrison], etc, they’ve all said like ‘He’s good you know.’
      “Because they didn’t know what to expect like anyone new through the door, but he’s brought them together, there’s definitely a more close-knit group now and they’re really young.
      “And he’s been through some hardships already in his young, early start as a manager, but when I listen to him in the meeting, him and Liam Rosenior, his coach, they were positive, they were clear, their messages were really bang on point.
      “We got a group that we chat into, a WhatsApp group with all the old Man Utd players. Listen, the first thing I’m going to be saying in there is ‘wow’.
      “The thing that does come out of it is he absolutely loves it – tactically as well.”
      Ferdinand also remarked: “I’m impressed by how he’s dealt with all of the things outside of the pitch.
      “End of last season, they stay up with the last kick of the game, everyone thought they were down, his first job.

      “He would have been well within his rights and people would have said ‘Do you know what? Well done to you,’ if he would have gone ‘Do you know what guys, thanks, but I’m going to leave now’.
      “Probably the hardest job, one of the hardest jobs about at the moment, but he stayed on, and I said to him, ‘I probably would have walked,’ because his reputation would have been intact.
      “Everyone would have still said, ‘Do you know what? I’ll give him a job. He kept them up last year,’ but he’s took it on again this year and he’s playing a risky game, but he’s passionate about it and he believes in himself.”
      Derby currently sit 14th in the Championship table after seven games played, with the club winning just once so far.
      Solskjaer reacts to Man Utd’s defeat against Young Boys More

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      Gary Cahill snubbed Premier League transfer offers for Bournemouth as ex-Chelsea ace targets return to the top-flight

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      CHELSEA legend Gary Cahill has revealed he rejected Premier League interest to join Championship side Bournemouth.The former England defender, 35, moved to Crystal Palace in 2019 after a trophy-filled seven years at Stamford Bridge.
      Gary Cahill says he snubbed several Prem offers to join Bournemouth last monthCredit: Getty
      The veteran says the challenge of getting the Cherries promoted inspired his decisionCredit: Rex
      Cahill made 45 appearances for the Eagles in the top-flight but left Selhurst Park when his contract expired in June.
      A host of clubs were linked with the veteran star, but it was his former team-mate Scott Parker that won the race for his signature.
      On Saturday he made his debut for the Cherries in the 3-0 win over Barnsley for his first appearance in the Championship for 14 years.
      And ahead of tonight’s clash with QPR he revealed to Sky Sports that the lure of helping Bournemouth win promotion was the reason he snubbed staying in the Prem.
      Cahill said: “I could’ve stayed in the Premier League – Palace offered me another year.
      “They needed to lower the age of the squad, so that didn’t work out, but it was fantastic there.

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      “It’s a great football club and I enjoyed my two years, but I had other opportunities as well to stay in the league.
      “This isn’t me being disrespectful, but the teams that I would have gone to, I would maybe have been losing more games than winning.
      “Speaking from my own point of view, am I going to add to my appearances or am I going to have a different challenge and come to a club that, again, is changing and, ultimately, challenge for promotion?
      “I took quite a bit of time in the summer because of that reason – I was unsure what I wanted to do in terms of my future.
      “I spoke when I first signed here about what was going to drive me, what was I doing it for. The longer I was off, the more I missed playing. I missed the games, first and foremost.”
      Cahill, who helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2012, added: “In terms of the opportunity to come here, I saw that as a totally different challenge to what I’ve been used to in previous years and one that I was excited about.
      “Hopefully I can bring that bit of experience on the pitch in times that it might be needed. That’s what I hope.
      “Naturally I’m going to add experience, but I’ve come here to deliver on the pitch first and foremost.”
      ⚽ Read our Chelsea live blog for the very latest news from the Bridge More

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      Blackburn and Chile reach agreement over Ben Brereton Diaz – meaning striker will not miss four Championship games

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      BLACKBURN and Chile have reached an agreement that means Ben Brereton Diaz can represent his adopted nation next month.It also means the striker will NOT miss all four Rovers games during that time.
      Ben Brereton Diaz looks set to be allowed to link up with Chile next month after an agreement was made with BlackburnCredit: Alamy
      The half-Chilean, 22, was involved in the Copa America over the summer but did not link up for the recent international break over Covid quarantine restrictions.
      Rovers announced they had found a compromise with the Chilean football federation for the next set of World Cup qualifiers.
      That will see Brereton Diaz play in their first two games against Peru and Paraguay on October 6 and 9.
      But he will skip the final qualifier of the window against Venezuela on October 13.
      Blackburn said he would return to the UK after the Paraguay game to ‘begin any required quarantine period and limiting the number of games he would miss for his club’.
      A group of English-based players were set to be ineligible to play for their clubs over the weekend after four national associations – Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Paraguay – asked Fifa to apply a restriction over their clubs’ decision not to release the players for international duty in the September window.

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      However, it emerged late on Friday night that the demand to enforce the restriction had been dropped following extensive talks with Fifa – allowing the likes of Alisson, Gabriel Jesus and Thiago Silva to feature.
      Premier League clubs had agreed collectively at the end of August not to release players for September international duty in countries on the UK Government’s coronavirus ‘red list’.
      Fifa said on Saturday there had been ‘constructive dialogue’ with the Government following a letter sent by it, the Football Association and the Premier League to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday in a bid to avoid a repeat of the release dispute next month.
      The agreement worked out by Blackburn is similar to that agreed by Aston Villa for the release of their Argentine duo Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia, and may be the template that other clubs and associations follow unless a quarantine exemption is granted by the Government.
      Rovers manager Tony Mowbray said: “We’ve tried to do a deal with (Chile). They’ve withdrawn their complaint to Fifa, we’ve said that Ben can go in the next international window and let’s see what the world is like then, whether red zone countries are still red zone countries.
      Our hope is that the world is in a better place in a month’s timeTony Mowbray
      “I think we’ve agreed with them that he can play the first two games. In reality, if he plays the third game, he’s going to miss potentially three or four matches for us, with a ten-day quarantine.
      “So if he finishes after the second game, comes back, then he probably only misses a game or two for us.
      “Let’s see how that works. Our hope is that the world is in a better place in a month’s time and the Government look at the situation with the professional game and see whether there’s going to be an allowance for footballers.”
      Brereton made his Chile debut in a 1-1 draw against Argentina in June and scored in the 1-0 victory over Bolivia days later.
      He has five caps for the country of his mother’s birth, who reached the quarter-finals of this summer’s Copa America, losing to Brazil.
      Ben Brereton stars in Chilean Pepsi advert as Stoke-born Blackburn striker switches between Spanish and English More