"Interchangeable" fixture list fuels Derby relegation fears as club issued £100,000 fine
Sanctions could see Derby relegated to League One
Last updated 24th Jun 2021
The EFL say that the newly announced Championship fixture list for Derby is "interchangeable" with the fixtures of League One Wycombe "while the disciplinary process is finalised".
The disciplinary process is ongoing and revolves around how players were registered at the club.
In May an independent League Arbitration Panel ruled that the Disciplinary Commission was incorrect to dismiss the League's expert accountancy expert, which said Derby's policy regarding player registration was against accounting rules.
Specifically, the panel say the club's registration policy was not in accordance with "accounting standard FRS102" because it didn't reflect the way the club "takes the benefit of player registrations over the lifetime of a player's contract.".
The fallout, for now, is that the EFL have issued a £100,000 fine and told the club to hand over their accounts for the financial years ending 30th June 2016, 2017, 2017 and 2018.
The EFL said in a statement "the EFL can confirm that it has developed an interchangeable fixture list for Derby County and Wycombe Wanderers, while the disciplinary process is finalised."
The club has hit out at the suggestion that sanctions could drop them down into English football's third tier saying in a statement "The Club disputes that a points’ deduction at any time is appropriate, and disputes that it is lawful for the EFL to seek to impose one retrospectively, altering the final league placings after the season has already finished.
"The Club looks forward to competing in the Championship in the 2021/22 season. It shall not comment further until after publication of the full written reasons of the Disciplinary Commission."