Wycombe owner accuses Derby of 'systematic cheating'

Wycombe finished 22nd in the Championship last season, one point and one place behind Derby

Wycombe owner Rob Couhig has accused Derby of "systematic cheating" and has threatened to sue the Pride Park outfit for millions of pounds if his club are denied a place in the Championship because of the timing of a disciplinary appeal.

The English Football League released "interchangeable fixtures" for Derby and Wycombe on Thursday amid an ongoing Financial Fair Play case against the Rams.

Derby were fined £100,000 and ordered to resubmit their accounts by an EFL disciplinary commission.

That came after an independent arbitration panel decided the club had not followed standard accountancy rules in making their original submissions.

The EFL has the option to appeal against the punishment and may call for a points deduction - which could see the Rams relegated from the Championship.

Wycombe were relegated on the final day of last season, finishing one point behind Derby.

A Derby statement on Thursday said the club disputed that a points deduction would be an appropriate or lawful punishment to be imposed retrospectively, "altering the final league placings after the season has already finished".

But Couhig feels Derby deserve to be punished further.

"It is beyond disappointing that a club can systemically cheat and end up with a slap on the wrist," he said. "You have years upon years of violating the rules.

"I don't want to sound bitter about it. It is not over yet, obviously. But it just doesn't make any sense.

"A £100,000 fine is what you would expect to receive if it was merely a technical [breach].

"In this case it was way beyond technical. That is what the appellant panel said."

The Rams were cleared of breaching Financial Fair Play rules last year.

However, the EFL appealed against the decision to an independent tribunal and won the element of the case concerning how the club measured the value of players - called amortisation.

On Wednesday, the EFL said Derby had been fined and also issued with a reprimand as to their future conduct.

The club have also been ordered to file restated accounts for financial years ending 30 June 2016, 2017 and 2018 "together with updated profit and sustainability calculations if necessary", the EFL said.

BBC Sport has been told any further breaches will be dealt with through further charges.

BBC Sport has been told the EFL produced an interchangeable fixture list to allow for the entire case to run its course. Although, in accepting there is no timescale, the EFL has left open the potential for it to run beyond 7 August, when the domestic season is due to begin.

That could mean Wycombe starting life in League One before the final outcome of the case is known.

"If we don't get a decision until after we have started and we were forced to play in League One, my suspicion would be Derby would owe Wycombe for the losses we would sustain for not playing in the Championship in 2021-22 and any reasonably projected economic losses," Couhig said.

"So we are looking in the region of £10m-£15m of potential losses for a Derby club which, the last time I looked, is having some trouble paying its creditors.

"We would have an obligation to look into [suing them]. If it was the best thing for the club, yes, that is what we would do."