Reading supporters will stage a protest in a desperate attempt to prevent detested owner Dai Yongge from completing a £25 million sale of the club’s training ground to rivals Wycombe Wanderers.
Yongge’s chaotic regime is under further scrutiny following the club’s announcement that a deal is in progress with their fellow League One side for their Bearwood training base.
Reading are facing a cash shortfall of £1 million for this month and could be deducted further points by the Football League if they fail to pay their liabilities.
Under Chinese businessman Yongge, Reading have already been docked 16 points during a stormy period which resulted in relegation from the Championship last season.
The EFL is unable to intervene on Reading’s move to sell the training complex but is understood to have discussed the issue at a board meeting on Thursday.
Reading’s supporters have demanded that Yongge finds a buyer for the club. Fans group, Sell Before We Dai, has revealed that a peaceful protest will be held outside Wycombe’s Adams Park stadium on Friday evening. Adams Park is just over 26 miles away from Reading’s Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Caroline Parker, a spokesperson for Sell Before We Dai, said :”The statements from both Reading FC and Wycombe Wanderers FC this lunchtime about the proposed sale of Bearwood training ground confirm what we feared – that owner Dai Yongge, his sister and fellow owner Dai Xiu Li, and CEO Dayong Pang, are interested in only one thing – killing Reading FC.
“The irony that Yongge, Xiu Li and Pang have supposedly been able to agree a deal in just a few days, when there has been no progress on the sale of the club for months – despite potential new owners being interested – is not lost on us.
“It clearly shows that Yongge, Xiu Li and Pang have no interest in securing Reading’s future, only in taking any value they can from the club’s assets. We know there are interested buyers, but it’s clear we don’t have serious sellers.
“We doubt any claim that the funds released from the sale of the training ground will be used to cover the £1 million shortfall that the club needs to pay its bills by the end of the month, as well as securing the funding needed ahead of a full sale. Without evidence of these, we suspect the club will see none of the proceeds.
“To Rick Parry and the EFL we say again, but louder: now is the time for action, not more words – to prevent another club dying on your watch.”
Reading are currently 18th in the League One table and five points above the relegation zone.