DERBY IN THE DOCK

Threat of 21-point penalty over £80m Pride Park sale

DERBY are facing a 21-point deduction that could relegate them to League One after they were charged by the EFL with a breach of spending regulations yesterday.

The Championship club’s proposed investment from SwissTurkish businessman Henry Gabay is also in jeopardy.

Derby are charged with breaking profit and sustainability (P&S) rules for the three-year period ending June 2018. EFL rules state clubs can lose no more than £39million over a three-year cycle.

The League’s case against Derby is understood to rest on the controversial sale of Pride Park, which was sold to a company controlled by the club’s owner Mel Morris for £80m two years ago and leased back the club. Following the sale, Derby recorded a pre-tax profit of £14.6m last April, which enabled them to comply with the P&S regulations.

The EFL launched an investigation into Derby’s valuation of Pride Park at the start of this season, as their rules state that any property sales and commercial deals included in club accounts must be at fair market rates.

Sportsmail have been told that the EFL’s independent valuation deemed Pride Park to be worth approximately £50m. They have therefore accused Derby of overvaluing the asset by £30m. The club stand by their valuation and insist they complied with the rules throughout, so the stage is set for a lengthy legal battle.

Derby’s case will be heard by a three-person independent panel, who have the power to impose a large fine and dock the club up to 21 points in line with the EFL’s fixed P&S tariffs, which were introduced three years ago.

If the panel uphold the charge, Derby would have breached the spending limits by around £15m, putting them in line for the maximum 12-point deduction. The EFL could also argue Derby have committed an aggravated breach, which would incur an additional nine-point sanction.

Derby, who are captained by Wayne Rooney, sit 17th in the Championship, 10 points above the relegation zone, so being docked 21 points would almost certainly lead to relegation.

The EFL said in a statement: ‘Following a review of Derby P&S submissions, the EFL has charged the club for recording losses in excess of the permitted amounts for the three-year period ending June 30, 2018. The club will now be referred to an independent disciplinary commission which will hear representations from the EFL and Derby County.’

Derby have endured a turbulent season, with Sportsmail revealing on January 2 that the players’ wages were delayed in December.

In October they sacked captain Richard Keogh. He had sustained a serious knee injury the previous month as a passenger in a car crash following a drunken night out with team-mates. Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett were fined, banned from driving for two years and ordered to do 180 hours of unpaid work for their part in the incident.

Keogh has appealed to the EFL against his sacking and is awaiting a date for that hearing.