London (AP) – Former national soccer player Wayne Rooney has been relegated to the 3rd English division as a coach with his heavily indebted club Derby County.
Derby lost 1-0 at Queens Park Rangers and, second to last in the second-tier championship, can no longer be saved with 31 points. Rooney was initially player-coach at Derby; The 36-year-old has been the coach of the insolvent club since November 2020.
In mid-November 2021, Derby County was punished with a drastic point deduction for the second time. The club accepted a nine-point deduction for breaking English Football League (EFL) rules for “profitability and sustainability”. The former English champions had already been deducted twelve points in September because they had filed for bankruptcy.