Owner escapes ban from football but commission listens to EFL plea to spare Barnsley FC's League One rivals another points deduction

Dai's mismanagement of the Berkshire club he has owned since 2017 has been a source of frustration for the league for the last two years.

In November 2021 they were docked six Championship points and put into a two-year transfer embargo for exceeding permitted losses.

In April they were docked six more for breaching the terms of an agreed business plan, a punishment which ultimately led to their relegation last season.

This season they are 23rd in the 24-team League One having been docked for more when a suspended three-point penalty was triggered by their failure to lodge funds in an account as required, then added to.

Dai was charged with misconduct by the League in September over the matter, but the punishment has been decided by an independent disciplinary commission.

At a November hearing the League asked that Reading should not be punished further but requested their owner be disqualified from all football activity, including ownership and control, for a period of 12 months.

The league made a point of praising the management, staff and players of the club "who continue to act as outstanding ambassadors for Reading FC, despite the challenging circumstances."

Despite declaring themselves "unimpressed" by Dai's failure to provide detailed evidence as to the ongoing reasons for his failure to pay the agreed funds despite seeking financial assistance from family members, or to outline his future intentions, but felt a disqualification would not achieve the immediate objective of ensuring the funds were found.

They called his actions a "serious case" and "deliberate misconduct."

The commission therefore fined Dai £20,000 with a further £50,000 suspended until January 12, the deadline for him to deposit 125 per cent of the forecast monthly wage bill.

He is also required to keep the deposit at that level until August 31 at the earliest. This is something League Two Morecambe were charged for not doing this week.

The League added it "is ready to support the club in quickly progressing a change of control at the Club once a purchaser has been identified. "

The shambolic affair will only add to pressure for the Government to come good on its promise, made in the 2019 General Election manifesto and reiterated in the most recent King's Speech to introduce a regulator for English football.