Derby County owner urged to confirm club can survive season
Fans representatives at Derby County FC have urged the club’s embattled owner to confirm that it has enough cash to get through the 2021/22 season.
A letter sent to Rams owner Mel Morris from The Rams Trust board outlines three questions that fans want answering and urged him to be “up front” about the state of the club, which is still without a buyer after a succession of deals fell through and is currently the subject of EFL disciplinary action.
The letter reads: “Football clubs are not simply another business with ‘stakeholders’. Derby County provides our city with an identity. The Club is an instrinsic part of our community. Derby County is a part of the lives of so many people in Derbyshire. You took on the great honour and responsibility to be custodian of our football club.”
The Rams Trust is urging Morris to make a statement on the following three questions:
– Are the directors able to confirm that there is funding in place to ensure the club can complete the season?
– Can [the Club] confirm that all outstanding debts to HMRC will be covered, so there is no danger of administration before the end of the season?
– Can [the Club] confirm why the EFL has now added a charge for failure to pay outstanding transfer fees – and when will this be resolved?
The letter adds: “Supporters need assurance that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
In June it was revealed that Derby County could be in danger of being “retrospectively relegated” after an independent Disciplinary Commission has delivered its decision on sanctions against the club.
The decision related to disciplinary proceedings brought by the EFL relating to the Club’s policy adopted for the amortisation of player registrations.
The Rams have been ordered to submit revised accounts for the financial years ended 30 June 2016, 30 June 2017 and 30 June 2018 by August 18 this year and has fined the club £100,000. An extension to this deadline was eventually agreed.
