They did it once on the pitch and now they have done it off the pitch as the Football League’s decision not to issue a points sanction sees Derby County avoid relegation to League One.
Derby County Avoid Relegation
Accounting Policies at Midlands Club Remain Under Scrutiny
In a strange twist of events, the Football League opted to create a fixture list for the new season that saw Derby in both the Championship and League One as well as Wycombe Wanderers who were relegated on the final day of the Championship season and, had a points sanction been initiated, would have been moved back to that league.
The EFL were considering appealing Derby’s £100,000 fine for their accounting policies but decided not to go ahead due to insufficient grounds to do so according to The Athletic.
EFL Statement as Derby County Avoid Relegation
On Friday July 2, the EFL issued a statement stating that they were still disappointed that only a fine was issued as they felt further and more severe sanctions should have been imposed on the East Midland club, saying: “The EFL remains disappointed that the commission has a determined that a £100,000 financial penalty is appropriate , when it was found the policy adopted for the amortisation of player registrations and the description in the notes to the Annual Accounts did not comply with Profit and Sustainability (Financial fair play) rules.”
The decision means that the 2021/22 season will kick off with Derby still in the Championship.
More to Come
Whilst Derby will be relieved with this outcome, the issue is not over just yet. The club now have until August 18 to file revised accounts for the years ending on June 30 2016, 2017 and 2018 at which point the EFL will review the accounts to ensure that the club has met P and S rules. If they fail to do so, Derby could find themselves in real trouble with more financial penalties and possibly a points deduction for the upcoming season.
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