Reading owner Dai Yongge has been granted an extension to sell the club until April 22nd, the EFL have confirmed.
Yongge was initially told that he had until April 4th to relinquish his shares in the club last month. This came after he was disqualified under the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test in February.
It’s been a turbulent few years for Royals fans. They’ve had to contend with numerous point deductions, relegation to League One and several threats of expulsion. Despite that, they find themselves in the hunt for promotion this season thanks to the excellent work of first Ruben Selles, then his successor Noel Hunt.
EFL Offer Lifeline
With Yongge’s deadline looming, it was becoming clear that it would be missed. As such, the EFL have confimed that an extension has been granted. In a statement, they said:
“Following a meeting of the EFL’s Board earlier today, the League can confirm that following a request from Reading FC it has extended the time allowed for Mr Dai Yongge to divest his interests in the Club until 22 April subject to compliance with all other EFL Regulations.
“As stated previously, the League’s priority is to progress a sale of the Club at the earliest opportunity, in order to end the current uncertainty surrounding its future for its staff, supporters and wider community. While Mr Yongge is yet to divest his interests, as is required following his disqualification, discussions for him to do so remain active and ongoing.
“The Board recognised that these matters are further complicated by the structure of assets held across different companies, and various competing security interests, and therefore deemed it appropriate to allow more time for them to be resolved. In the meantime, the League will continue to monitor those discussions and the Club’s immediate cash flow requirements.
“The League has the power to suspend a Club if a Director fails to comply with the requirements of their disqualification. The terms of any suspension would be at the discretion of the Board, and while suspended Clubs are not permitted to fulfil League matches, they would continue to be a member of the League at that point.
“Following recent comments in respect of the circumstances around the approval of Mr Yongge’s acquisition of the Club in 2017, the League would like to reiterate that Mr Yongge was not subject to a sports governing body disqualification, including the Premier League, at the time of the acquisition.
“The reason Mr Yongge did not procced with a purchase at Hull City was related to the involvement of a separate individual. This individual was not involved in the subsequent purchase of Reading, and in the absence of any disqualifying condition, alongside ample evidence of source and sufficiency of funding, the EFL was obligated to confirm that Mr Yongge met the requirements of the Regulations.”
Writer’s View
Whilst the extension of the deadline offers a little respite, it is delaying the inevitable for Dai Yongge. Simply put, he has to go and he has been backed into a corner. Failure to do so could see Reading expelled from the Football League, which would be a travesty. We can only hope that this is put to bed before the end of the season.
