Search icon

Football

18th Sep 2021

Derby County facing point deduction after filing for administration

Reuben Pinder

The club confirmed its date on Friday night

Derby County are facing a 12-point deduction after confirmation that the club, its holding company and all its subsidiaries had filed ‘notices of intention to appoint administrators.’

In a statement, the club said: “Last week, it became clear that the process which has been underway to identify a purchaser for the Club likely would not be productive over the near term, despite the number of negotiations with credible parties.”

Shifting a lot of the blame on the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the statement added: “The irony is that the Club’s financial forecasts show the emergence of a financially sustainable picture. Absent the COVID-19 pandemic, we undoubtedly would have been able to trade through.”

The club took a £20 million as a result of the pandemic, and was therefore not able to fulfil its day-to-day financial obligations.

It went on to say: “We cannot stress enough how devastating it is to be forced into this position. We all – the owner, the members of the board, and our staff – are true Derby County supporters. We will continue our work under the stewardship of the Administrators to help facilitate their process and their effort to find a purchaser.”

A recent statement from the English Football League confirmed the club would be hit with a 12-point deduction once applications for administration had been received.

This will put Wayne Rooney’s side, currently 16th, rock bottom of the Championship on a negative five points.

Speaking on Sky Sports on Friday night, Gary Nevill described it as ‘devastating’, pleading with the authorities to stop this trend from continuing.

“We need to hear from [new culture secretary] Nadine Dorries that she’s going to support the recommendations from the fan-led review to put an independent regulator in place,” he said.