Royals docked one point and owner fined following late payment of wages last season...
Reading Football Club can confirm that as a result of admitting three charges in relation to breaches of Regulation 64.7 of the EFL Regulations (relating to three instances of late payment of player wages), we have been penalised with the deduction of one point which will be applied to our 2023-24 total with immediate effect.
We have also been sanctioned with a suspended penalty of three points which will only be applied should the club fail to pay players' wages on time on any further occasion between now and 30 June 2024, or should our owner Mr Dai fail to deposit an amount equating to 125% of the club's monthly wage bill into a designated account as he has been directed by the Disciplinary Commission. Mr Dai has also been fined £10,000 for causing the club to breach the EFL Regulations.
After being charged by the EFL in June, the club responded in a timely fashion – accepting the charges in principle, whilst providing evidence of the mitigating circumstances surrounding the late payments to an independent Disciplinary Commission in response to the charges.
Our dialogue with the EFL and the Independent Disciplinary Commission has been open throughout the process and, in accepting that the repeated late payment of wages is wholly unacceptable, we believe the punishment is just. The wage bill has been satisfied in full and on time for the last three months and, as recently communicated to supporters, our owner will continue to seek and secure reliable sources of stable external investment which will ensure cashflow complications do not arise and result in any further breaches of EFL Regulations.