Derby County administrator turns on media as EFL steps in
The EFL has said it is “increasingly concerned” over the future of Derby County and will has triggered new conditions on the club which mean it will now be able to view all correspondence between administrators Quantuma and potential bidders.
The League has also said that it will be able to “negotiate directly” with those bidders in an effort to sell The Rams.
The news comes after US businessman Chris Kirchner failed to meet a 5pm Friday (June 10) deadline set by Quantuma to transfer funds to the club.
Over the weekend, an increasingly frustrated Quantuma issued two statements – one outlining that Kirchner has failed to prove he was in a position to buy the club, and a second in which the company turned on the media for “inaccurate reporting” adding that it may take legal action against those which it deems to be publishing “manifestly inaccurate articles”.
The statement added: “The level of inaccuracies being reported is divisive and is unnecessarily driving both a rumour mill and growing anxiety, uncertainty, and ill feeling amongst supporters. The joint administrators are deeply disappointed to note that this has led to a tirade of unfounded abuse being levelled at the joint administrators and their staff.
“The joint administrators wish to clarify a number of the inaccuracies being reported as follows:
“The joint administrators confirm that, to date, they have received no payment for their work, and indeed have accrued substantial out-of-pocket expenses which the firm is currently funding.
“The joint administrators wish to confirm they are engaging with a number of parties who have expressed a desire to acquire the Club. As confirmed in yesterday’s update, Mr Kirchner is one of those parties, as he continues to seek to provide us with satisfactory evidence that he is in a position to complete the acquisition of The Club. At this stage, the joint administrators will not be naming any of the other parties they are engaging with. However, they understand some of those parties may wish to go public of their own accord.”
Also on Saturday, pressure group Team Derby issued its own statement. It said: “Team Derby is hugely concerned at the latest developments regarding the sale of Derby County Football Club.
“The group, which includes MPs and representatives of the civic and business communities, has been active behind the scenes in the process of helping secure a purchaser for Pride Park Stadium and has offered support to prospective new owners of the club.
“We reiterate our willingness to do whatever we can to achieve a successful outcome for Derby County, the supporters and the city.
“We have met this morning and had further discussions with the administrators. We understand the administrators are seeking to engage with other interested parties, and would urge them to do this as soon as possible, given there is now very little time remaining to achieve a positive resolution.
“With the help of our local MPs, we are seeking a meeting with the Sports Minister and to again raise our concerns in Parliament next week.”
On Sunday, the EFL issued its statement about stepping in to oversee the sales process of The Rams.
Trevor Birch, chief executive, said: “Following this latest setback for the Club and its fans, it is vitally important that a sale of the Club is concluded at the earliest opportunity and we want to ensure that this objective is achieved.
“Up until now we have provided the Administrators with the time and opportunity to manage the sale process but with the long stop date on the asset purchase agreement and the membership agreement now passed, further urgent proactive action is required in order to do whatever is possible to secure the Club’s future as a continuing member of the EFL.”
