Reading’s League One match with Port Vale was abandoned on Saturday “on the advice from the EFL” after 1,000 home fans invaded the pitch.
The home supporters were protesting against the club ownership of Dai Yongge and the match was halted after 16 minutes of play, with around 40 of the fans still refusing to leave the pitch some 45 minutes later.
In the gathering gloom, with most of the floodlights switched off, those supporters still stood in the centre circle surrounded by stewards before the announcement to call the game off was made at 4.25pm.
The game was held up earlier for three minutes – before the pitch invasion – when tennis balls were thrown on to the playing surface at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Referee Ross Joyce took the players into the dressing rooms, while the supporters milled around the pitch, some letting off blue flares.
After approaching the Vale fans, some of whom applauded them, most of the home fans started to head back to the stands.
But many of them then returned and staged a sit-in in the centre circle.
A statement posted on Reading’s X, formerly Twitter, account, read: “We are fully aware of and understand our supporters’ frustrations, but we must reiterate to our supporters that entering or throwing items on to the pitch can put the fixture at risk of abandonment and can result in personal consequences including banning orders.
“Thank you for your support today.”
As Reading fans continued to stay on the pitch, the club made two announcements over the PA system.
They stated that once the fans had returned to the stands, the game could resume.
As the supporters remained on the pitch, stewards guarded both goalmouths.
The Port Vale fans began to grow tired of the protests, chanting they had “made their point” and should leave the pitch.
A further announcement over the PA system said that, unless the pitch was cleared, the match would be abandoned. It added that it would go “along with the consequences” of a possible points deductions.
As the game continued to be held up, reaching the half-hour mark, some Reading fans who had remained in the stands began to boo those on the pitch, while Vale fans began to chant “we want our money back”.
There remained a tight cordon of stewards around the entrance to the players’ tunnel, with the players having remained in the dressing rooms throughout.
As around 300 Reading fans remained on the pitch, at 3.56pm officials from both clubs were in contact with the EFL fixtures management team to discuss “the best course of action”.
Twenty minutes later, Port Vale manager Andy Crosby walked along the touchline to speak to the Vale fans. He spoke only briefly, before walking back to the dressing room, but many Vale supporters then started to leave the stadium.
Moments later the announcement for the match to be postponed was made.
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
Denmark 1-2 Spain: Oyarzabal and Perez on target as Roja secure top spot
Spain secured top spot in Group A4 of the Nations League with one match to spare after defeating Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen.
Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez were on the scoresheet as the unbeaten Roja made it four wins and a draw to pull six points clear of the second-placed Danes.
Luis de la Fuente's side capitalised on a poor pass from Denmark centre-back Jannik Vestergaard to open the scoring as Oyarzabal latched on to a ball from Perez and finished past Kasper Schmeichel in the 15th minute.
Villarreal forward Perez then doubled the visitors' lead in the 58th minute after Dani Olmo turned provider with a defence-splitting pass.
The hosts reduced the deficit with six minutes of regulation time left, as Fabian Ruiz's back pass to goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Gustav Isaksen, who had been denied by the woodwork moments earlier, and he slotted into an open goal to set up a tense ending.
But the Spaniards held on for the win and will now face Switzerland in their final group game on Monday, before taking part in the quarter-finals, scheduled for March.
Indonesia 0-4 Japan: Visitors stay unbeaten with rout
Japan continued their unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying with a 4-0 victory over Indonesia on Friday.
Two goals from the visitors in either half were enough to seal the three points and get them back to winning ways after a stalemate with Australia last time out.
Ragnar Oratmangoen should have put Indonesia ahead, but he hesitated one-on-one with the goalkeeper, and Japan did not look back after that. They got a bit of fortune with their first goal, Justin Hubner deflecting a cross into his own net in the 35th minute.
Takumi Minamino got their second just before the break, finishing off a pacy counter-attack by darting onto the end of Kaoru Mitoma’s cross to sweep it past Maarten Paes.
While there was not much the goalkeeper could do with that one, he was at fault for the third as he gifted the ball to Hidemasa Morita, who coolly picked out the bottom corner just after the break.
Yukinari Sugawara came off the bench to round off the scoring in the 69th minute. He raced down the right wing and instead of looking to his options, he rifled it in from a tight angle at the near post.
Japan are up to 13 points after five games, sitting top of Group C, while Indonesia are bottom, still in search of their first win.
Data Debrief: Clinically done
For a team still chasing their first win, Japan are probably not high on the list of opponents they would want to face, and Indonesia were undone by their visitors.
Hajime Moriyasu's side created 0.79 expected goals (xG) to Indonesia's 0.72, while they only had four more shots than their hosts (12 compared to eight).
Japan took their chances, and though the win margin may look harsh, they were deserving of the three points, having dominated throughout the game.
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