EXCLUSIVE: Derby could still be RELEGATED from the Championship

EXCLUSIVE: Derby could still be RELEGATED from the Championship after EFL win appeal to find Rams did breach Financial Fair Play rules… and a three-point deduction THIS season would send them down despite last-day survival

  • Derby escaped relegation to League One on the final day with a dramatic draw 
  • Wayne Rooney’s side drew against Sheffield Wednesday, who were relegated
  • Wycombe Wanderers and Rotherham United were the other sides to go down 
  • But the EFL could sanction Derby due to a breach of Financial Fair Play rules
  • A fine or points deduction could be applied – and the latter enforced this season would see the Rams relegated from the Championship after all 

Derby County could yet be relegated from the Championship after the EFL won its appeal to find the club in breach of Financial Fair Play.

The sanction is still to be determined, but we are told that anything from a fine to a points deduction is possible, and that could be applied to the current season or the next campaign.

Were the independent panel who decide on the punishment to impose even a three-point penalty on this season, it would relegate Wayne Rooney’s side to League One.  


Derby could be relegated from the Championship after the EFL (pic right, chairman Rick Parry) won its appeal to find the Rams in breach of Financial Fair Play

Derby manager Wayne Rooney celebrates his side’s Championship survival on Saturday

Derby survived in dramatic fashion on Saturday when Rotherham conceded a late equaliser at Cardiff, meaning they were relegated instead of the Rams, who drew 3-3 at home to Sheffield Wednesday and stayed up by one point.

Wycombe Wanderers, who finished third bottom, would be restored to the Championship were Derby to be hit with a points deduction.

Derby avoided a possible points deduction last August when an independent disciplinary commission cleared them of breaching FFP rules after the EFL brought two charges against them.

But the EFL appealed against that decision and we can reveal they have won on grounds of player valuation.

Wycombe would be restored to the Championship if Derby were hit with a points deduction 

Sportsmail have been told that Derby – owned by Mel Morris (above) – did not follow accepted practice by including the depreciation of player assets in their accounts

We are told that Derby – owned by Mel Morris – did not follow accepted practice by including the depreciation of player assets in their accounts. Sources say that removed losses in excess of £30million over a three-year period.

This latest development leaves the future of the club in even greater doubt, with Morris desperate to sell.

Spanish businessman Erik Alonso has agreed a deal to buy the club but he has, so far, been unable to produce funds. 




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