Wednesday 24 April 2019 10:07, UK
A bitter dispute between Championship clubs looks set to escalate as demands to see the financial statements of Derby, Sheffield Wednesday and Aston Villa intensify, Sky Sports News has learned.
A majority of Championship clubs, led by Middlesbrough owner Steve Gibson, will meet at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on Wednesday to vote on a change in EFL rules - one which would allow clubs the chance to study each other's accounts.
Gibson believes the league's profitability and sustainability (P&S) rules, formerly known as Financial Fair Play, may have been broken by the three clubs - and he is demanding greater transparency.
Wednesday's meeting is expected to be a fiery affair and, if 18 of the 24 vote for change, EFL rules could be changed within seven days, allowing all P&S statements to be shared.
Sky Sports News understands that both Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday are lobbying hard to keep the rules unchanged.
Clubs unable to attend the meeting have been asked by the EFL to vote by proxy.
Sky Sports News understands it is unlikely that any new breaches of regulations which are uncovered would lead to points deductions in this campaign.
Brought in two years ago, the P&S rules state that clubs cannot lose more than £39m over a three-year period, and a breach could lead to potential sanctions including transfer bans and points deductions.
Last month Birmingham became the first to fall foul of the rules and were deducted nine points, seeing them drop five places to 18th in the league. They recorded total losses of £48.8m from 2015-16 to 2017-18, nearly £10m more than the £39m limit.
All other Championship clubs, up to March 2018, have been adjudged by the EFL to have adhered to their regulations.
