Wayne Rooney's dramatic survival mission keeping Derby up could be wrecked by a successful EFL appeal.
The Rams narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship with a tense 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at home on the final day.
Rotherham's 1-1 draw with Cardiff meant County stayed up by one point, finishing in 21st ahead of Wycombe who went down with the Millers and Owls.
But it has since emerged the English Football League (EFL) have won an appeal relating to a Financial Fair Play (FFP) charge brought against the club in January last year.
The process for how the Rams measured the value of players was one of two charges against the club, the other related to the sale of Pride Park Stadium.
The Rams were cleared of both charges in August but the EFL appealed against the "amortisation of intangible assets" on the club's books in September.
Now the EFL , who do not comment on ongoing cases, have won its appeal to find the club in breach of FFP rules, otherwise known as profit and sustainability regulations.
It is ruled Derby, owned by Mel Morris, did not follow accepted practice by including the depreciation of player assets in their accounts which could have removed losses in excess of £30million from their balance sheet over a three-year period.
The sanction is still to be determined but could range from a fine to a points deduction.
The latter could be applied to the current season or the next campaign.
Their opponents at the weekend, Wednesday, went down in part due to a six-point penalty last year for an FFP breach.
Were an independent panel , who decide on the punishment, to impose even a three-point penalty on this season, it would relegate Rooney's men to League One.
This latest development leaves the future of the club in even greater doubt, with embattled Morris desperate to sell up.
Boss Rooney is also anxious for clarity to plan for next season after a protracted takeover by billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan, a cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour, collapsed.
Spanish businessman and former boxer Erik Alonso,29, has since agreed a deal to buy the club but he has, so far, been unable to produce funds.
Derby are refusing to comment on the latest development despite vowing to “vigorously” resist the appeal.
They responded in September by issuing a statement that said they were "surprised and disappointed" to hear the EFL had decided to appeal.
The statement read: "If the EFL is concerned about the wider implications of the ruling then it has always been open to it to recommend a rule change requiring defined amortisation policies, but it has not done so."
