Chinese owner of English soccer club Reading fined and warned to ‘fund the club adequately’

LONDON (AP) — The Chinese businessman who owns English soccer team Reading was fined a further 50,000 pounds ($63,650) on Monday for financial mismanagement and told that he needs to “fund the club adequately” or make “immediate arrangements” to sell up.

The sanction came two days after Reading’s third-division match at home to Port Vale was abandoned just 16 minutes into the first half after around 1,000 home fans stormed the pitch to protest against Dai Yongge.

Club officials made several appeals over the stadium loudspeakers and social media for fans to leave the field and allow the League One game to resume, but it was eventually abandoned with the score at 0-0.

Reading fans have long been unhappy with Yongge. The team was deducted a total of four points this season for failing to pay players on time, after which the English Football League — which runs the professional divisions below the Premier League — called for his disqualification.

Now he has been handed another fine by the EFL for failing to fund a deposit account to cover the salaries of players and staff.

The EFL board will discuss Saturday’s events when it meets later this week.

“His continued failings mean that once again the club’s hardworking staff have no reassurance as to payment of wages and demonstrates a clear disregard for his obligations as a director of the club,” the EFL said.

“In respect of this issue, the league will now consider all available options it has under the regulations and will have no hesitation in bringing further charges against Mr. Dai. In the meantime, and for the sake of the future of Reading, its staff, supporters, and local community, we urge Mr. Dai either to fund the club adequately or to make immediate arrangements to sell his majority shareholding to appropriate new owners so everyone can move forward with renewed optimism.”

Saturday’s game was initially held up for three minutes when fans threw tennis balls onto the playing surface at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, before supporters ran onto the field in large numbers.

Reading was most recently in the Premier League in the 2012-13 season.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer