For the third time this year, a former Premier League club has had points deducted. Reading, a League One team, was penalised three points because their owner failed to fund an account with enough money to cover the team’s monthly payroll.
According to the BBC, the EFL instructed the owner of the Royals, Dai Yongge, to deposit 125% of the wage bill into a designated account by Tuesday. That didn’t occur, and as a result, there will be a suspended point deduction starting right away.
Reading has already lost four points from their current campaign this year, so this is not the first time they have been penalized. Due to delayed payroll payments in August, the Royals lost a point.
This comes after they lost six points in April for breaking the profit and sustainability rules, which helped to send them from the Championship to League One.
The EFL has said that it will continue to penalize Reading as long as they violate the rules since Chinese entrepreneur Dai is still “committed” to the Royals and is actively seeking new investors to support the club’s financial stability.
Reading, who joined the Premier League only ten years ago, should be quite concerned about this as any further point deductions could harm their season.
