Concerned Reading fans plan to focus future protests towards the English Football League amid genuine fears the club could go out of business under owner Dai Yongge.
Saturday’s Sky Bet League One match between the Royals and Port Vale was abandoned after approximately 1,000 home supporters invaded the pitch at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Sell Before We Dai, a fan-led group urging Chinese businessman Yongge – Reading’s majority shareholder since May 2017 – to sell up, said the incident was “just the start”.
Group member Eleanor Flood, a season-ticket holder who has been watching Reading since 1994, called for support from the EFL to help stave off the possibility of liquidation.
“I think the people who can put the pressure on is the EFL, so I think we will turn our attentions to something there,” she told the PA news agency.
“They’ve got their head office in Preston and the London office, so I think we’ll look to do something that focuses more on them and their ability to really intervene in this.
“We don’t want them to let us go under when they could actually step up and help.
“I think that’s where the focus will be – PR stunts to keep it in everybody’s mind, but ultimately the next stage will be to put pressure on people who can actually help us.
“We were in the Premier League (most recently in the 2012-13 season) and now there’s a real possibility that we might not exist.
“For one of the oldest clubs in the football league, that’s just unimaginable, that we might go into liquidation.”
As a membership organisation and competition organiser, the EFL’s role is to ensure compliance and work within the bounds of regulations set by member clubs.
The League, which supports the new independent regulator, was recently unsuccessful in a proposal to have Yongge disqualified from all football activity for 12 months in relation to a financial misconduct charge.
Reading, formed in 1871, have been hit with a series of points deductions and financial penalties under his stewardship.
The Berkshire club were relegated from the Championship last term due to a six-point penalty and sit in the League One relegation zone after being stripped of four points this campaign.
Saturday’s pitch invasion occurred in the 16th minute, representing the total number of points deducted during Yongge’s reign.
Fans chanted anti-Yongge slogans and unveiled a banner in the centre circle which read ‘Football has an ownership problem’.
The 55-year-old Yongge, whose takeover came just before the Royals’ penalty shoot-out defeat to Huddersfield in the 2017 Championship play-off final, was previously involved with Chinese club Beijing Renhe and Belgian side KSV Roeselare, both of which were dissolved.
Flood said efforts to target the EFL could be done in collaboration with fans of other clubs troubled by recent ownership issues, such as next weekend’s opponents Wigan.
“It’s important to reference that he’s liquidated two other clubs as well, one in China and one in Belgium,” Flood said of Yongge.
“They don’t exist anymore – and we don’t want to be the third.
“You want there to be that club that’s passed from generation to generation and at this point we’re really scared that next season it might not exist.”
The EFL is set to discuss the implications of the abandoned match with Reading and Port Vale.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Marc Skinner signs Manchester United Women contract extension
Marc Skinner has signed a one-year contract extension as Manchester United Women head coach with the option of a further 12 months.
The 41-year-old guided United to their first major silverware last weekend with victory over Tottenham in the Women's FA Cup final.
United are fifth in the Women's Super League with one game to go - a massive drop on last term's runners-up finish - but Skinner will stay on.
"It's an honour to extend my stay at Manchester United," Skinner, who was appointed in 2021, told United's official website after the news was confirmed on Friday.
"I've always felt at home here, with our excellent players, staff, and fans.
"Being able to secure the team's first major trophy at Wembley was a real career highlight for me and another sign of our continued growth, on and off the field."
United conclude their campaign on Saturday against Chelsea, who lead Manchester City on goal difference entering the final day.
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