Former Reading FC striker Simon Church has spoken out against the English Football League (EFL) following their latest statement.
The Royals have had to endure a tortuous takeover process which has been ongoing for well over 500 days without a resolution.
Although the EFL have now suspended owner Dai Yongge in order to force him to divest his shares in the club, the deadline for him to sell the club has been extended to April 22, siting the complicated nature of the deal.
In their statement, the EFL said that they do have the power to suspend the club from playing league matches, but reiterated that Reading would remain a member of the EFL at that point.
Therefore, it currently remains unclear what could happen to the club if it is not sold by the new deadline.
Former Royal Simon Church, who played more than 100 times for the club from 2007-2013, took to X to voice his displeasure at the situation
He said: “So the EFL are going to potentially penalise the club, fans, staff and livelihoods of all associated families all because of an owner that THEY passed “the fit and proper test” f****** morons.”
Meanwhile, the EFL’s statement did respond to claims that they allowed Dai Yongge to buy Reading despite him not passing the owners test to purchase Hull City who were in the Premier League at that time in 2017.
The EFL said: “Following recent comments in respect of the circumstances around the approval of Mr Yongge’s acquisition of the Club in 2017, the League would like to reiterate that Mr Yongge was not subject to a sports governing body disqualification, including the Premier League, at the time of the acquisition.
The reason Mr Yongge did not procced with a purchase at Hull City was related to the involvement of a separate individual. This individual was not involved in the subsequent purchase of Reading, and in the absence of any disqualifying condition, alongside ample evidence of source and sufficiency of funding, the EFL was obligated to confirm that Mr Yongge met the requirements of the Regulations.”
