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Exclusive: Derby County's legal dispute with the English Football League to begin next week

Exclusive: Derby County's legal dispute with the English Football League to begin next week -  Getty Images
Exclusive: Derby County's legal dispute with the English Football League to begin next week - Getty Images

Derby County’s legal dispute with the English Football League will finally start next week.

The Championship club are facing punishment over charges of breaching Profitability and Sustainability rules - which they strenuously deny - and Telegraph Sport understands the hearing is to begin on Monday.

Derby were charged in January by the EFL with exceeding "excess losses", believed to be relating to the £80m sale of Pride Park to a company owned by Mel Morris, the club's chairman.

Morris has always maintained that the sale of fixed assets was previously allowed in the rules and Derby will "strongly contest" the charge.

Yet Derby could face sanctions if found guilty by an independent disciplinary commission, with the punishment ranging from a points deduction to a fine or transfer embargo.

The independent panel, which consists of three people, will consider the evidence of both Derby and the EFL before reaching a verdict.

When contacted on Friday, Derby and the EFL both declined to comment.

Derby are currently ninth in the Championship table, three points adrift of the play-off positions and 16 points clear of the bottom three.

Sheffield Wednesday are still waiting to discover the outcome of their hearing for alleged financial misconduct, which was held last month.

Wednesday were charged over alleged breaches regarding the £60 million sale of Hillsborough to chairman Dejphon Chansiri, enabling them to post a pre-tax profit of £2.5m.

The charges relate to "how and when" it was sold, and its subsequent inclusion in the 2017-2018 accounts when it was sold a year later. Wednesday have also strongly denied the charge.

Garry Monk, Wednesday’s manager, has lost three games in a row and a heavy points deduction could plunge the club into a relegation battle if any punishment is imposed this season.

"I can't control any of it and none of us can. I just have to try to set the team up to win games," Monk told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"From a logic point of view it makes no sense that it's gone on this long. It's not a good situation for anyone to be in.

"It's frustrating but the club are dealing with it. Regardless of any EFL situation, we need results."