Reading fan protests: Why Royals supporters are protesting against club owner Dai Yongge
Reading fans were protesting against the club ownership of Dai Yongge and the match was halted after 16 minutes of play, with around 40 supporters still refusing to leave the pitch 68 minutes later; referee Ross Joyce took the players into the dressing rooms before calling off the game
Monday 15 January 2024 12:49, UK
More than 2,000 Reading supporters stormed onto the pitch during their game against Port Vale on Saturday, leading to the abandonment of the fixture at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
The fans took to the pitch after 16 minutes of the League One tie to protest against the club's owner, Dai Yongge, with the game being abandoned an hour later.
The 16th minute was picked to symbolise the 16 points the club have been deducted by the EFL. Yongge has not been seen at any of the club's fixtures for several months.
Why are Reading fans unhappy with Dai?
Reading owner Yongge is blamed by many supporters for the club's problems, including wages not being paid and a winding-up order being served in October over unpaid taxes.
Yongge took charge in 2017 but has come under fire after the club was hit with a number of penalties for financial mismanagement, including a four-point deduction this season for a late payment of the monthly wage bill.
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- Reading vs Port Vale abandoned as home fans refuse to leave pitch
Former Premier League team Reading, who were relegated after 10 years in the Championship in 2023, have been deducted 16 points in under two years.
This season, they have received four points in deductions - a punishment that has seen them struggle in the League One relegation zone.
Match against Port Vale abandoned as home fans refuse to leave pitch
A statement from fan protest group 'Sell Before we Dai', said: "Today is a dark day for Reading Football Club.
"The first fan-led match abandonment in our long history should not be celebrated, but the spontaneous, unfiltered passion, as well as the will and determination of our fans, should be.
"Today has proven beyond any doubt that Reading fans will not be ignored and will fight to the bitter end for our club."
After the game, club manager Ruben Selles - who has been in charge since the summer - added in an interview with BBC Radio Berkshire: "We understand people's frustrations and as long as it is not violent we understand.
"I think they made their point together about what they want. The club is their life and they find ways to express what they want for the club.
"Obviously my part is with my players and we want to play football matches and play for them.
"On my side I'd like to play that game and get them a victory but I understand what they did."
It was the latest stage in the protests from Reading fans. Games have already been halted over the past 18 months with tennis balls being hurled onto the pitch from the stands, while fans have also staged a protest march from the town centre to the stadium before October's League One game against Portsmouth.
The club's financial mismanagement saw the owner, Yongge, found guilty of misconduct by the EFL back in December.
He was fined £20,000 by an independent disciplinary commission with a suspended set fine to have been triggered on Friday should 125 per cent of the clubs wages not be submitted in a designated account. The EFL has not confirmed it has yet been paid.
The league has asked the commission to suspend Yongge from football activity for 12 months, something the panel resisted as they felt it would not achieve the goal of receiving funds into that account.
Takeover talks are ongoing, but the club put out a statement last week that they still welcome fresh interest.
Yongge has been in charge of the club since 2017, and confirmed he was open to offers for the club earlier this season.
Reading have been forced into cost cutting over recent weeks to keep the club afloat, making several staff redundant - including assistant manager Andrew Sparkes, who only joined with Selles in the summer.
The club have been late paying wages under Yongge's ownership on several occasions, while also being served with winding-up petitions by HMRC for failing to make payments on time. Those issues with HMRC have also been led to the club being placed under transfer fee restrictions for three transfer windows by the EFL.
The club are currently fourth bottom of League One.
'It's absolutely heart-breaking' | What is next for Reading?
Former Reading player Jobi McAnuff on Sky Sports:
"From a personal point of view it's absolutely heartbreaking to see what has gone on at the club. Not too long ago in the Premier League.
"We don't want to see games being called off and abandoned because fans are on the pitch but I feel knowing people around the club and who work there, the soul of it has been ripped apart, and the fans feel this is the only way that they can now be heard.
"It's a set of fans who probably aren't the most vocal at times in voicing displeasure, for them to have got to this stage shows how they feel. There are rumours every day of asset-stripping in terms of selling players off cheaply and then the money not being reinvested.
"I hope it doesn't result in another points deduction. The EFL have tried to aim things at the owner and it is definitely an owner-individual situation, rather than the club being mismanaged on a wider scale.
"But it's just so, so sad to see."
