Middlesbrough are “very serious” about suing the EFL following the sale of the Derby stadium, according to Jim White, in a row that has already seen Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani accuse the club of “cheating”.
The Times reported that Middlesbrough have accused the EFL of failing to enforce its own rules after Derby County bought their own stadium for £80m last year. Derby recorded a pre-tax profit of £14.6m and avoided any penalty for financial fair play.
Leeds owner Radrizzani accused Derby of cheating more than his club had over the spygate scandal that saw them fined £200,000.
Middlesbrough lost out to Derby in the chase for the last play-off spot by a single point in the Championship last season.
Talking on the Jim White Show (talkSPORT, Friday, 10.15am), the host said, “A source at Middlesbrough confirmed to me that they would be suing the EFL over the Derby stadium sale and that the process is well underway. Middlesbrough are more serious then you can imagine about this.
“They are very serious about suing the EFL. It’s my understanding the EFL will come out with more detail in the next 24-48 hours.”
White also spoke to Derby owner Mel Morris who defended his club’s actions and refuted any allegation of corruption.
“Middlesbrough are entitled to do whatever they feel they need to do,” Morris said, “but the bottom line is we approached this thing very professionally 18 months ago when we looked at utilising the stadium for other purposes.
“If we solve the problem of the weather and the grass we have the opportunity to use the stadium for a variety of different events.
“The valuation of the stadium was not based on that, it was as a football stadium. When you put a roof on and are able to cover the pitch the value of the stadium would rocket even further.
“I don’t know what’s corrupt about it. Is it any different if you sell a player? You plan your purchases around what your P&L is going to show. If you’ve got a player who’s worth £50m you can use that. We didn’t use a loophole, let’s be very clear on this. The rules are extremely specific – the sale of a fixed asset is allowable.”
TiF Verdict – Loophole by any other name
The Times report states that the EFL is “shaken” by the development and they won’t feel any better after hearing that Middlesbrough are “very serious” about seeing the legal action through.
Sales of fixed assets can be used against financial fair play limits, but the accusations of using a ‘loophole’ come when clubs sell assets back to themselves. That certainly feels like a loophole but it looks like the courts will decide whether it’s more serious than that.
The valuation will play a major part, with the stadium listed as an asset valued at £41m and then Derby selling it to a sister company for £80m. That’s a big difference.
The bigger issue, though, is surely the financial state of many Championship clubs, all desperate to win promotion and get the instant £180m windfall Jim White said going up is worth.
The EFL needs to look at financial rules and rewrite them to make sure that clubs don’t put themselves in a position where they could go out of business. And to ensure there’s a level playing field for everyone.
As to what Morris said, selling a player isn’t the same thing at all. That’s a very normal course of action for a football club.
Who determines whether Derby can re-value their stadium at almost double what it was listed at? Is that a fair valuation and who decides that? Is it a loophole or simple financial accountancy?
It’s a very complicated case and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out.