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EFL confirm points deduction for Reading after breaching regulations

EFL confirm a points deduction for Reading after breaching regulations, this takes effect immediate with the points tally adjusted.

A one-point deduction with a further three points have been suspended after an Independent Disciplinary Commission determined that the club had breached EFL Regulations.

Owner Dai Yongge has also been fined £10,000 and ordered to deposit an amount equal to 125% of the Club’s forecast monthly wage bill in a designated Club account, in an attempt to avoid further breaches…

Reading, who have won 1, drew 0 and lost 2, now sit 18th in League One with 2 points from 3 games played.

EFL STATEMENT:

Reading Football Club has today received a one-point deduction with a further three points suspended after an Independent Disciplinary Commission determined that the Club had breached EFL Regulations.

The breaches related to the Club having failed to pay its players’ wages on time and in full on or around 31 October 2022, 30 November 2022, and 28 April 2023. 

Reading’s 2023/24 League One points tally will be adjusted immediately whilst Owner Dai Yongge has also been fined £10,000 and ordered to deposit an amount equal to 125% of the Club’s forecast monthly wage bill in a designated Club account, in an attempt to avoid further breaches.

If the 125% deposit is not paid within 28 days of the Independent Disciplinary Commission’s decision or there is any further failure to pay players’ salaries up until 30 June 2024, then the suspended points sanction will be activated.

The EFL remains extremely frustrated at the consistent failures of the Club’s ownership to meet its ongoing obligations under EFL Regulations, the consequences of which are having a negative impact for all those associated with Reading, particularly its staff members, supporters, and local community.

Whilst we acknowledge the independence of the commission and the sanction imposed, this outcome does fall some way short of the League’s existing sanctioning guidelines. The EFL will now undertake a full review of the decision issued, taking into consideration the recent previous sanctions imposed on the Club and their subsequent impact.

The Independent Disciplinary Commission’s Written Reasons can be viewed here.

READING STATEMENT:

ROYALS DOCKED ONE POINT AND OWNER FINED FOLLOWING LATE PAYMENT OF WAGES LAST SEASON…

Reading Football Club can confirm that as a result of admitting three charges in relation to breaches of Regulation 64.7 of the EFL Regulations (relating to three instances of late payment of player wages), we have been penalised with the deduction of one point which will be applied to our 2023-24 total with immediate effect.

We have also been sanctioned with a suspended penalty of three points which will only be applied should the club fail to pay players’ wages on time on any further occasion between now and 30 June 2024, or should our owner Mr Dai fail to deposit an amount equating to 125% of the club’s monthly wage bill into a designated account as he has been directed by the Disciplinary Commission. Mr Dai has also been fined £10,000 for causing the club to breach the EFL Regulations.

After being charged by the EFL in June, the club responded in a timely fashion – accepting the charges in principle, whilst providing evidence of the mitigating circumstances surrounding the late payments to an independent Disciplinary Commission in response to the charges.

Our dialogue with the EFL and the Independent Disciplinary Commission has been open throughout the process and, in accepting that the repeated late payment of wages is wholly unacceptable, we believe the punishment is just. The wage bill has been satisfied in full and on time for the last three months and, as recently communicated to supporters, our owner will continue to seek and secure reliable sources of stable external investment which will ensure cashflow complications do not arise and result in any further breaches of EFL Regulations.

EFL confirm a points deduction for Reading after breaching regulations, here’s what fans had to say…

@royalex_B: You lot allowed him to take over our club, maybe you should look in the mirror and dish a few fines out there

@RFCJoeJ: Maybe if you looked at the Prems fit and propwr test which he failed just months becore buying us then you wouldn’t have to worry would you

@iainjennison: Not fit for purpose

@o_dcfc:
Embargo
Out
Embargo
Out
Points deduction
EFL NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE

@arnie_rfc: Yeah thanks for passing him as fit and proper lads. Only the third points deduction in 3 seasons, don’t forget the countless embargo’s you’ve put on us

@_col__83: So you lot passed him fit and proper in the first place. You then in this statement acknowledge the affect this owner is having on supporters, people at the club etc. But then you also say you’re unhappy the ruling falls some way short of the leagues sanctioning guidelines 🤷🏻‍♂️

@CentralWigan: Really feel for Reading players, staff, and supporters here. Such a terrible situation they are in because of incompetent ownership. Striking similarities to what we at Wigan have been through, and I hope that their issues can be sorted quickly 🙏🏼 🔵⚪️ #wafc #ReadingFC #rfc

@northeastroyal: Seems we have got off likely IF Dai can meet what’s been set. Are we likely to get hit with further deductions for the HMRC issues?

@nrogers959: A single point deduction for not doing something they were asked to do a year ago. This is why you don’t want to breach FFP, it never ends….

@jay_tics: Shambolic organisation. Time it was gutted and reformed #wafc

@HannahJM1806: So basically we are at -4pts because we all know he’s going to fail to pay something in the next 10 months! I hate the EFL with a passion, they need to take some accountability for not just Reading but other clubs whose owners have royally shafted their fans, players etc

@rfctom: We’ll win the league, pay the wages late, drop into the playoffs, lose the final. The Reading Way. #readingfc

@ttmaynard: Need Dai out as soon as possible. Also don’t like the sound of this in the EFl statement: “The EFL will now undertake a full review of the decision issued”. Sounds as if they will try to dish out a more strict penalty, they are not fit for purpose! #SellBeforeWeDai #readingfc

@JacksonsCorner_: We’ve just been handed another points deduction for not paying players wages, only English club in history to get one 3 years in a row. Then straight after it’s been announced, we’ve signed someone on loan from FC Copenhagen. This club is an absolute basket case. #reading

@MikePea73444529: #readingfc Surely as a club and fan base we need assurances this idiot is going to be player wages on time over the next ten and a bit months. I wish he would just get lost

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