A lengthy feud has rumbled on for the last few months, after Boro chairman Steve Gibson complained to the EFL about Derby, Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday breaking the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules. We look back at how the saga has played out. Scroll down and flick through our picture gallery to find out:
9. June - Villa confident they will avoid sanctions
Villa’s chief executive Christian Purslow said he's confident the club would avoid sanctions ahead of the new campaign, and that they complied with the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules. Photo: Catherine Ivill
10. September - Gibson calls EFL owners 'chancers'
Following the plight of Bury and Bolton, Gibson was once again asked about the EFL's financial regulations. “In the last decade or so, there’s been a major shift to owners with much more complex agendas," he told the Northern Echo. "On the one hand, you’ve got what I might call chancers, wanting to take over struggling clubs to make a quick buck, and then on the other, you’ve got a raft of foreign owners who operate under completely different rules to the ones we have to observe." Photo: Matthew Lewis
11. September - Boro set to sue EFL
A report in the Times stated Boro are set to sue the EFL for failing to enforce its financial rules on Derby. It's said Boro’s claim is based on the fact they finished one point behind the Rams last season and, as a result, missed out on the play-offs. Photo: Catherine Ivill
12. September: Derby release a statement
The Rams responded to Boro's complaint, releasing a statement denying any wrongdoing. It said: "The club regrets that Middlesbrough Football Club have said they are suing the EFL over the matter, but that is a matter for them. Derby County offered to show Middlesbrough its financial records but they declined the invitation and appear to have decided to bring a claim against the EFL instead." Photo: Alex Livesey