Derby deducted nine more points for breaching EFL rules over Pride Park sale
Derby County have been deducted a further nine points after admitting to breaches of the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules over the £81m sale of Pride Park to their former owner Mel Morris, taking their total deductions this season to 21 points.
The club’s administrators confirmed on Tuesday that they have agreed the deduction with the EFL, plus a further suspended three points. The decision brings to an end a long-running saga of nearly two years, after Derby were initially charged in January 2020.
A statement on Derby’s website also confirmed that their appeal against a 12-point deduction for entering administration has been dismissed, leaving them facing relegation to the third tier for the first time since the mid-1980s.
“The EFL has confirmed that Derby County Football Club have received a nine-point sporting sanction with a further three points suspended after admitting to breaches of the League’s profitability and sustainability (P&S) rules,” read the statement. “This matter has been determined under the terms of an ‘agreed decision’ reached between the League and the club and was formally ratified by an independent disciplinary commission chair as per the requirements of EFL regulations.
“The club, via its administrators, has also agreed, following last week’s adjournment, to the dismissal of its appeal against the 12-point deduction imposed as a consequence of the club entering administration in September 2021, meaning that the sanction continues to apply. The new nine-point penalty has been applied immediately, resulting in the club having been deducted a total of 21 points from this season’s Championship table.”
The decision leaves Wayne Rooney’s side bottom of the Championship on minus three points and 18 points adrift of safety.
Carl Jackson, a joint administrator for Derby, said: “This has been a difficult matter to navigate bearing in mind the various issues concerned. Whilst point deductions are never ideal for any club, it was critical to the club’s future that all matters were concluded between the EFL and the club in relation to historical issues. This conclusion allows us to proceed with our restructuring strategy for the club with prospective interested parties.”