Reports have emerged this morning that Middlesbrough are set to sue the English Football League for their failure to enforce financial rules regarding Derby County's purchase of Pride Park.
The Times have this morning claimed that Middlesbrough have sent a legal letter to EFL headquarters.
The Rams finished in sixth place last season stealing the final play-off spot from Boro who finished one point behind them in seventh.
That denied then Tony Pulis' side a chance at promotion to the Premier League and a £180m windfall that would have followed, had they beaten Leeds United and Aston Villa in the play-offs.
This ongoing saga is showing no signs of drawing to the close.
Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson has been very outspoken about club's using a loophole to purchase their own stadium, which Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Reading have all done in the last year.
In the Rams' case, owner Mel Morris purchased Pride Park using a separate company for £80m, as showed by the club's latest accounts, with a deal to lease the ground back to the club.
However, at the time of purchase, the ground was listed on the club's assets as valued at £41m, which has sparked the EFL to launch an independent investigation on the stadium's value.
This year Derby posted a profit of £14.6m pre-tax, which eased concerns that they would fall foul of the EFL's Financial Fair Play regulations, which state clubs cannot lose more than £39m in three years.
With the Rams treading close to the line, and the same to be said for Wednesday and Reading, each owner has taken the decision to purchase their club's stadium, thus adding an influx of money into the club.
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has remained outspoken over the need to change the FFP rules but has remained insistent that the Whites must comply with the regulations.
United sold star players Pontus Jansson to Brentford and Kemar Roofe this summer, as well as a number of fringe players, to earn over £25m in player sales to balance their books.
“We should revisit the rules,” said Radrizzani at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit.
“We were judged as a cheating club when we sent a scout to watch [Derby] training, so they should take a similar view on what I would say is greater cheating by these clubs.
“For me if it’s cheating to send a scout in a public street, what should be the punishment of selling the stadium to a sister company to increase income of the clubs?”
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