The Football League says it is “exasperated” that the Derby County saga has continued to drag on – and disappointed at what it calls “inaccurate” and “misleading” reporting about the club’s affairs.
In a “Derby County Update”, the EFL said it had spoken with MPs, Government officials, councils and the Rams Trust to try and find a way out of administration for Derby.
It said claims against the club by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers were “merely one part of a complex puzzle” while the club is in the hands of administrators.
The EFL also said it was not in a position to make a determination on the compensation claims by Middlesbrough and Wycombe against Derby - which would only get it into more hot water.
But it said it has agreed to be part of talks between the three clubs, the administrators, local MPs and others to try and find a way forward.
It said: “The role of the EFL is to balance the interests of all 72 EFL clubs and to make a unilateral decision either way could destabilise the competition and be viewed as reckless and unfair to all parties.”
The Rams went into administration in the autumn – and were docked 21 points for breaching EFL financial rules.
Three parties are said to be interested in the club, but the process has been delayed by factors including the financial claims by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers, who say they have suffered because Derby had not been penalised sooner.
The EFL said: “In an attempt to move this particular matter forward swiftly, the EFL has written to all parties with a proposed solution to negotiate a deal via independent legal mediation, alongside alternative options that would give clarity on the football creditors point quickly.
“The league is currently awaiting a response from all of those involved and it hopes to hear from all parties on the options proposed imminently.”
It said while it still wanted to clear up the status of the claims by Middlesbrough and Wycombe, it also needed Derby’s administrators “as a matter of urgency” to clarify how they plan to fund the club for the rest of the season.
It said: “By the administrator’s own forecasting, the club will run out of cash by February, and therefore sourcing funds is of paramount importance to ensure they can compete for the rest of the season.
“This is not an artificial EFL deadline, but the reality of when we have been informed the money runs out.”
The league also said it needed “urgent clarification” from the administrator as to who the preferred bidder was in order to try and solve the challenges associated with the claims.
The statement said: “The league is exasperated that this has still not been resolved and that we are approaching the end of the transfer window and administrators have still not provided us any guarantee of funds which are required under the terms of the league’s insolvency policy.
“As a founder member of the Football League with a proud history, the club is of huge importance to the East Midlands, our competition and the wider football family and we all hope it can flourish once again in the future as a sustainable member of the EFL.
However, any resolution achieved cannot ignore or sidestep EFL regulations or UK law and any solution needs to be found that satisfies the competition regulations and the terms of the EFL’s insolvency policy that was set and agreed by all 72 members, including Derby County.”
