Richard Keogh WINS compensation claim against Derby and takes home payout of around £2.3m

Crisis club Derby suffered another blow on Tuesday with the EFL finally confirming they must pay former captain Richard Keogh £2.3million in compensation for sacking him unlawfully.

Sportsmail revealed in January that Keogh had won his claim for wrongful dismissal at a tribunal after being sacked by the club in October 2019 for his part in a car crash the previous month that left him with career-threatening knee injuries.

Derby appealed against the finding of the EFL’s Player Related Dispute Commission (PRDC) that they must pay the remainder of Keogh’s £24,000-a-week contract in full, with the League Appeal’s Committee (LAC) upholding the verdict last week. 

Richard Keogh has won a compensation claim against Derby and has received a £2.3m payout

Keogh was in the back of Tom Lawrence’s black Range Rover when it crashed into a lamp post

Keogh, now at Huddersfield, made over 350 appearances for Derby before his sacking 

The 34-year-old, who has played for Huddersfield this season, was sacked by Derby for gross misconduct after he was hurt in a high-speed car crash that also involved team-mates Tom Lawrence and Mason Bennett following a boozy night out.

Keogh was a passenger in Lawrence’s car, which crashed into the back of Bennett’s vehicle before careering into a lamp post. Both Lawrence and Bennett were over the drink-drive limit and fled the scene, leaving Keogh unconscious.

‘The LAC heard and dismissed an appeal by Derby against the decision of the PRDC in the case of Richard Keogh,’ an EFL statement read. 

‘The PDRC held that Mr Keogh had not committed gross misconduct, that he had not brought the club into serious disrepute and that he had been wrongly dismissed by the club.’ 

Despite Keogh’s dismissal, team-mates Lawrence and Bennett were only fined six weeks’ wages and ordered to do 80 hours of community service by the Rams. The pair were also found guilty of drink-driving at Derby Magistrates’ Court, where they were given a further fine, a two-year driving ban and another 180 hours of community service.

The EFL also confirmed on Tuesday that they have won their appeal against Derby’s accounting policies and want the club’s punishment for breaching financial fair play rules to be given ‘as soon as reasonably possible’.

Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday that the EFL faced a race against time for sanctions to be imposed this season, a move that would likely relegate Wayne Rooney’s side to League One.

Derby’s Lawrence was driving the Range Rover that had then team-mate Keogh in the back

They have been found guilty on a misconduct charge relating to accountancy practices concerning player valuation. An EFL statement read: ‘There is no definitive timescale for a sanction, though the League will press for a decision as soon as reasonably possible.’

Sportsmail understands that Derby, owned by Mel Morris, have delayed the procedure in an apparent attempt to avoid punishment this season.

But the club said: ‘The reason the EFL’s appeal took so long to determine was because of three separate preliminary issues raised by Middlesbrough FC and then the EFL… each of which was dismissed with the club being successful.

‘Had they not brought those issues, the appeal could have been determined in 2020.’

It is likely that the EFL will run out of time and Derby will begin next season with a points deduction.

Meanwhile, the Twitter account of would-be Derby owner Erik Alonso has vanished, hours after he apparently tried to pass off a £42million mansion as his own.

Social media users pointed out that a video posted by Alonso of the luxury pad had been used last month by a Los Angeles-based estate agent.

Sportsmail revealed last week that Alonso’s proposed takeover was in serious jeopardy. EFL sources have since expressed doubt over the validity of the deal, with Alonso unable to provide proof of funds.  

Prospective Derby County owner Erik Alonso has been criticised by fans after apparently trying to pass off a £42m mansion as his own on social media