Derby County announced today that Middlesbrough’s legal quarrel had been settled by former owner Mel Morris who had earlier requested the northern side settle their claim with him rather than the club.
Steve Gibson, owner of Middlesbrough, launched a legal claim against the rams after their financial boost to reach the playoffs in 2019 was seen as unfair and against the EFL’s financial fair play rules. This saw Derby reach the playoffs at the expense of Middlesbrough, who lost out by one point.
The claim, with another by Wycombe Wanderers who were relegated instead of Derby at the end of 2020/21, is a huge hurdle in the sale of Derby County and lengthening their battle against liquidation and possible extinction.
Morris requested at the start of February that the two clubs pursue their compensation claims in the High Court against him rather than Derby, therefore allowing the sale of the club to move forward and a conclusion to be drawn sooner. Morris was quoted as saying: “Let DCFC move on for the benefit of the fans, city of Derby and the EFL” as he seeks resolution. Details of the deal were shared by Morris and Gibson to Quantima, the administrators, in what will make Saturday’s clash between the two an even feistier affair.
Manager Wayne Rooney has led his Rams side to four points off safety after the EFL handed the club a 21 point deduction in the build up to the current season, meaning the side started with minus points in what would already have been a tough season. Derby were docked twelve points for going into administration with a further nine for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules during the 2018-19 season.
Punishments were related to overspending and the sale of the ground to the owner, which was eventually ruled unfair by the EFL despite winning play-off finalists Aston Villa doing the same to get around FFP.
The claim, reported to be around £40 million, was launched in 2019 and has taken almost three years to reach any sort of deal. Middlesbrough accused them of “cheating” to get to the play-offs, saying “MFC allege Derby County and its directors systematically cheated under the P&S Rules and that such cheating affects the integrity of the competition. At least two clubs, namely Middlesbrough and Wycombe, were directly affected by the cheating, albeit in different seasons.”
While there are currently no actual conclusions or results, it’s a promising sign for Derby supporters.
Details of the resolution have not yet been made public.
