Championship club Derby County have been hit with an additional point deduction after going into administration earlier this season.
Derby were hit with an initial 12-point deduction earlier on in the season but have now been punished with an additional nine-point penalty, bringing the total points deducted up to 21.
In an official statement on their website, the EFL said: “Derby County Football Club has received a nine-point sporting sanction with a further three points suspended after admitting to breaches of the League’s Profitability and Sustainability (P&S) rules.
“This matter has been determined under the terms of an ‘Agreed Decision’ reached between the League and the Club and was formally ratified by an Independent Disciplinary Commission Chair as per the requirements of EFL Regulations.”
The statement also went on to say that the clubs administrators have agreed to dismiss their appeal against the 12-deduction received in September, confirming the 21-point penalty.
Furthermore, Wayne Rooney’s team have also been given a suspended three-point deduction that will be imposed if the club fail to comply with the terms of the ‘Agreed decision’ the club and EFL have made in terms of budget.
With the 12-point penalty Derby were already bottom of the table, but not a million miles away from safety, considering that they would have been six points clear of the relegation zone without it. But now the task Rooney and his coaching staff have at Derby looks impossible to overcome.
The Rams are now 18 adrift of safety and it will be a monumental task to break free of this stranglehold the club find themselves in.
However, should they pull off the nigh-on impossible it will go down as one of the greatest escape stories in EFL history.
Derby have been in the championship since relegation from the Premier League in the 2007/08 season and have not been in the third tier of English football since before the Premier League was created.
There are still 29 games left to play in the Championship, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull it off.