Leeds owner hits out at Derby over stadium sale

LEEDS UNITED owner Andrea Radrizzani has escalated his club’s tension with Derby County after suggesting the Midlands club deserve sanction over alleged manipulation of Financial Fair Play rules. Derby were angry earlier in the season when a Leeds staff member was found spying on their training session ahead of their fixture at Elland Road. Leeds were fined £200,000 for spying. Marcelo Bielsa’s side then lost against Frank Lampard’s Derby in the play-off semi-finals. Now, however, Radrizzani has suggested that Derby’s financial situation deserves closer scrutiny. Derby revealed last month that they sold Pride Park to owner Mel Morris for £80million last year, which ensured they could record a pre-tax profit of £14.6m for the 2017-18 season. The EFL profit and sustainability rules do not forbid the sell-and-leaseback schemes, but Radrizzani and several other owners of EFL clubs appear to consider it unethical. The Italian told the Financial Times Business of Football summit: ‘For me if it’s cheating to send a scout in a public street, what should be the punishment of selling the stadium to a sister company to increase income of the clubs? ‘The fact they play the play-off final is nothing to do with FFP. They deserve to be there. But another discussion is what is FFP and what are the rules. ‘They need to be clear and the same.’ Radrizzani also admitted he will not spend big money this summer in pursuit of promotion with Leeds. ‘We will have to run a difficult summer in terms of transfer market but we have a great academy,’ he added.