Derby have sacked captain Richard Keogh for gross misconduct after the defender refused to accept a pay cut to his £1.3million a year contract.

Keogh was informed on Wednesday night that his deal would be ripped up as the Championship club take drastic action for his involvement in the alcohol-fuelled team bonding night last month.

The Republic of Ireland international was in the back seat of Tom Lawrence’s Land Rover Sport when the vehicle crashed into a lamppost, with the 33 year old suffering anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligament damage and the prospect of 14 months without playing.

Lawrence and Mason Bennett were banned from driving for two years for their part in the car crash and Keogh’s involvement is understood to have infuriated Derby’s owner Mel Morris.

Derby have conducted a thorough disciplinary process, delayed after Keogh’s first knee operation earlier this month, and following weeks of talks made him a take-it-or-leave it offer on Wednesday morning.