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Reading in grave danger



A murky winter's day at Reading's old Elm Park ground.   The club's future is darker now.


The EFL’s disqualification of Reading’s deeply unpopular owner, Dai Yongge, has triggered a deadline: he must sell the club by April 5 or risk leaving their fate in the hands of the league. If he fails to show sufficient progress toward a sale, the EFL could declare Reading unable to fulfil their fixtures — expelling them from the league and plunging League One into chaos.

A deal is believed to be on the table, with the American investor Robert Platek in an exclusivity period. Platek is also the present owner of the Portuguese side Casa Pia. But Reading fans have been here before — Platek is the fifth prospective buyer to enter exclusivity since Yongge put the club up for sale more than 500 days ago.

Speaking before Saturday’s match, the football finance guru Kieran Maguire outlined the stark reality. Yongge was disqualified after failing to pay debts in China, making him an “unreliable debtor” under the EFL’s owners’ and directors’ test.

While Maguire believes the EFL will do everything possible to avoid terminal consequences, he warned that administration is the most likely outcome if no sale is agreed. “This situation is now crystallising,” he said. “It’s like visiting a relative in hospital where you don’t know what the outcome’s going to be.

“Owners like Yongge get seduced by football. They see it as a trophy asset and get their fingers burnt. We don’t know who he owes money to — and that could mean he’s holding out for an unfeasible price.”

One such creditor is Rob Couhig, the former Wycombe Wanderers owner, who believed he had a deal to buy Reading last summer. He loaned the club £5million before the deal collapsed, and is now pursuing £12million in damages. To protect his investment, Couhig secured a mortgage over key assets — including the stadium and training ground — which any incoming buyer must now resolve.

Until the impasse ends, Reading remain unable to raise funds, surviving on Couhig’s cash and a £5million sell-on fee windfall from Michael Olise’s move from Crystal Palace to Bayern Munich last summer.

All football fans should be showing  solidarity with Reading.

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