Derby County will be docked 12 points with immediate effect after the second-tier Championship side entered administration, the English Football League (EFL) said on Wednesday.
Derby, managed by former England and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, filed a notice to appoint administrators last week amid a financial crisis and announced they had completed the process earlier on Wednesday.
On Friday, the club said “a number of developments” led to the decision, including a failure to identify a buyer and the negative effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on revenue streams.
Rooney’s Derby, who remain under a transfer embargo, were 12th in the Championship with 10 points from their opening eight games.
The 12-point deduction, the standard penalty for a club entering administration, will leave them bottom of the standings on minus two points, six adrift of their East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest.
“I appreciate that this is a challenging and concerning period for everyone associated with the club, particularly the staff and supporters, and it is our intention to work proactively with the administrators and all relevant parties with the objective of securing a long-term and viable future for Derby County,” EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said in a statement.
Derby could face a separate points penalty for breaching the EFL’s financial regulations. They were fined 100,000 pounds ($136,170) by an independent disciplinary commission in July accounting irregularities.
Andrew Hosking, Carl Jackson and Andrew Andronikou, managing directors at business advisory firm Quantuma, have been appointed joint administrators.
“We are in the early stages of assessing the options available to the club and would invite any interested parties to come forward,” said Hosking.
“Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures in the Championship this season and finding interested parties to safeguard the club and its employees.”
The EFL said it had already had “constructive discussions” with Quantuma and would remain in “regular dialogue” about the situation.