Reading fans protest over training ground sale to Wycombe Wanderers

Protesters gathered outside Wycombe Wanderers FC football ground

Football fans held a protest over plans to sell their beleaguered club's training ground to a rival team.

League One club Reading FC is in talks with Wycombe Wanderers, which wants to buy Reading's Bearwood Park ground.

Reading has financial issues and fans want owner Dai Yongge to sell the whole club, rather than its assets.

Wycombe expressed interest in purchasing the Reading training ground and Royals fans gathered on Friday in High Wycombe to protest the sale.

Reading are five points above the drop zone and had six points deducted this season over their financial issues.

The English Football League previously issued a series of penalties against Mr Yongge for financial misconduct.

They also urged him to start funding the club or sell up as soon as possible.

BBC Sport understands Reading have a cash shortfall of about £1m for March.

Reading is now in talks with the Wanderers about the purchase of the Berkshire club's training ground.

Reading fans' group, Sell Before We Dai, organised a protest outside Wycombe's Adams Park stadium on Friday evening.

They said "selling one of the club's key assets makes the club even less attractive to a new owner".

Eleanor Flood insisted Reading FC must be sold as a complete club

Eleanor Flood, a member of Sell Before We Dai, and from Reading, said: "We're here to show our displeasure at the training ground being sold off as a separate sale.

"We want the sale to go through as complete - the stadium, the club and the training ground.

"To carve any of those three severely hits the value of the club and we've always wanted the club to be sold as a complete unit."

Football fan Chris Hartley said Reading FC would "be dead" without its assets

Chris Hartley, from Caversham, described himself as a "lifelong Reading fan" and said: "With no asset, this is our club - dead."

"This is asset-stripping at the highest order," he added.

About 200 Reading fans attended the protest, supported by a handful of Wycombe fans.

One Wycombe said he was there to "show solidarity", adding that "what the Reading fans have been through is a disgrace".