Former Reading chairman Sir John Madejski 'concerned' over club finances
- Published
Sir John Madejski was Reading chairman from 1990 to 2012 and oversaw their promotion to the Premier League
Ex-Reading chairman Sir John Madejski says he is "concerned" about the club's financial woes but has urged fans not to protest against owner Dai Yongge.
The Royals have been served a winding-up petition by Revenue & Customs over unpaid tax bills.
The financially troubled club also face charges from the English Football League for paying players late.
"I share the frustrations of everyone involved," Madejski told BBC Radio Berkshire's Reading FC podcast.
"But this is not a situation that hasn't happened before.
"Sadly, all the way through Mr Dai's ownership we have had some sort of problem paying money on time.
"I'm hoping and praying this is just another one of those occasions, but it's not looking good."
The BBC has contacted Reading and Dai for a comment, but they are yet to respond.
As well as being charged with failing to pay players on time and in full on three occasions last season, the EFL last month charged Dai with causing the club to be in breach of its regulations.
A week later, the EFL added non-payment of tax to HMRC as one the reasons Reading are under a transfer embargo.
The Royals were deducted six points by the EFL at the end of their 2022-23 Championship season, for breaching the terms of an agreed business plan, which all but sealed their relegation to League One.
"Let me just say this, running a football club is not for the faint-hearted," Madejski added.
"I don't agree with the way Reading is being run at the moment but Mr Dai has put in well over £200m over his six years.
"That is an eye-watering amount, so give the guy a bit of credit for that at least."
'I would urge fans not to protest'
Sir John Madejski has urged supporters not to protest, after the pressure group 'Sell Before We Dai' called for the club to be sold as soon as possible
Since Reading were relegated to the third tier - where they will play football for the first time in 21 years when they start the new campaign in August - some fans have become increasingly restless.
A collection of supporter groups called 'Sell Before We Dai' joined forces to actively campaign for owner Dai, who bought Reading in 2017, to sell the club.
"I sympathise with the fans, the club staff and everyone involved," said Madejski, who was Reading chairman from 1990 to 2012 and oversaw promotion to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history.
"I think Mr Dai is keeping a lot of balls up in the air and that is a worry.
"I would urge the fans not to protest against Mr Dai - although they have good reason to, we have to get through this.
"I'm sure Mr Dai isn't adverse to selling Reading to someone with very, very, very deep pockets - but there aren't many of those people around."
Prior to the club being charged by the EFL in June, Reading chief executive Dayong Pang posted a letter to fans where he said he was "confident" the club would "fully correct the mistakes that were made many years ago".
He added: "As a club, financially we continue to face a number of significant challenges and our owner, Mr Dai, is working very hard to resolve those issues to ensure the future of Reading Football Club is stable, successful, progressive and positive."