OVER 500 days ago, Reading FC were put on sale by owner Dai Yongge in hopes of putting years of torment to rest, but 18 months on and no deal secured, aspirations of rejuvenation could wither into a Royal funeral.
Rumours that a dismal deadline has been handed to the Berkshire-based club were confirmed by the English Football League (EFL) yesterday, their statement read:
“The League can confirm that Mr Yongge has been recently disqualified under the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test.
“The disqualification requires Mr Yongge to divest his interests in the Club, and in the event that he fails to do so within the agreed timeframe [04.04.2025], the League will consider all options available within its regulations to bring the matter to a conclusion.”
A pledge to “end the current uncertainty” surrounding the club’s future has not inspired a morsel of confidence from Reading fans, who have watched their detested owner ignore deadline after deadline; whether taxes or paychecks and punish them time and again.
If he were to do so once more, the consequences for the football club could be terminal. Yongge, set to be disqualified from the EFL in a mere 11 days, could see the club follow him just a month later if a new owner isn’t at the operating table.
Whether it’s surgery or a miracle Reading are banking on for survival, the two battling parties – Yongge and the EFL – are both seen as traitors to the Royal crown by supporters.
In May 2017, Dai Yongge bought the club just months after being turned away from Hull City by the Premier League – failing to prove himself as a fit and proper owner – the EFL instead chose to roll out the welcome mat for the Chinese businessman.
He marked the start of his era by losing the Championship playoff final on penalties; epitomising the chaos theory of the English game and foreboding the looming catastrophe in the then Madejski Stadium.
Inexperienced management led to bizarre spending that pushed the club well beyond its means and forced the EFL to act.
A series of points deductions eventually knocked Reading to the third tier and seemingly infinite embargos ensued, placing the club under rapidly growing strain.
A year of League One turmoil has been followed by a potential playoff season for the 153-year-old football club, who are unbeaten in 10, but the last thing the Royals feel is invincible.
Funeral date pencilled in for the 4th of May, they wouldn’t even have the opportunity to play the playoff semi-finals if they were disqualified.
They recently lost a court case to formerly interested buyer Rob Couhig, which pins more uncertainty on a football club in crises; the EFL believe this should not block their sale.
Whilst Reading fans don’t question it is Yongge who has drained their life away, they are in no doubt that it is the EFL who have walked them to the noose and now they falter on the brink of oblivion.
