Reading agree to suspended three-point deduction over pitch invasion
Reading have agreed a suspended three-point penalty with the Football League over the pitch invasion which forced the abandonment of their League One match against Port Vale this month.
Around 1,000 Royals supporters entered the pitch in the 16th minute of the match on 13 January in protest against the club’s owner, Dai Yongge.
The EFL has announced that the club have now come to an agreement over the suspended points penalty, which is line with a sanction handed to Blackpool in similar circumstances in 2015. The match itself will be replayed in full on Tuesday 20 February, the EFL has confirmed.
In explaining the sanction, the EFL said in a statement that the suspended penalty would be activated with immediate effect in either the current season or 2024-25 “if any fixture played in any EFL competition is postponed or abandoned due to disruption (including incursion on to the field of play) by the club’s supporters”.
“The League continues to recognise the ongoing challenges for the club and its supporter base and notes the views expressed at the supporter meeting held with the EFL last week in respect of imposing further immediate points deductions on the club,” the statement read.
“This approach aims to balance the requirements of the EFL as the competition organiser to uphold its regulations on behalf of all member clubs whilst providing clarity to all associated parties on the impact of any future non-fulfilment of a fixture, coming as a direct result of supporter protests.”
On the pitch there was good news for Reading on Tuesday as they boosted their League One survival hopes with a shock 1-0 home victory against Derby County.
Paul Mukairu grabbed the only goal of the game in the 54th minute when he followed up an initial effort by Femi Azeez. Derby struggled to threaten the hosts after going behind and ultimately hit a setback in their promotion push. Reading, meanwhile, remain bottom but are now 10 points from safety.
Bolton moved above Derby into third after Victor Adeboyejo’s 24thminute goal helped them to return to winning ways with a 1-0 victory against Cheltenham. Barnsley also boosted their promotion hopes after an early own goal from Sam Long proved enough for them to win 1-0 at Oxford.
Michael Appleton lost his job as Charlton manager after their winless run in League One was extended to 10 matches with a 3-2 home defeat against Northampton. Louis Appéré scored deep into stoppage time to give the visitors the victory at the Valley. The hosts also finished with 10 men after the late dismissal of Tayo Edun.
In the most bizarre League One game of the night, Wigan beat Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 thanks to a Charlie Hughes goal scored in the 110th minute of the match. The large amount of stoppage time was because of an injury to the referee, Adam Herczeg, who found himself caught in a midfield sandwich 10 minutes after the restart. He was replaced by the fourth official
Steven Rushton.
Elsewhere in League One, Exeter beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 thanks to a goal from the teenage striker Sonny Cox.
In League Two, Mansfield dropped more points in their bid for promotion after being held to a 1-1 home draw by struggling Sutton. Lee Angol gave the visitors an early lead but George Maris scored in the 35th minute to earn the Stags a point.
MK Dons cruised to a 3-1 win against AFC Wimbledon, who finished with nine men after having both Huseyin Biler and Paul Kalambayi sent off midway through the second half.
Bradford’s winless run stretched to