Reading warned they face six point deduction and Championship relegation battle after financial breaches
READING have been warned they have no chance of escaping a six-point deduction this season.
The Royals beat the drop last term — despite a six-point cut imposed in November 2021.
That deduction was part of a 12-point penalty, with the rest suspended.
Reading have submitted new financial figures.
The EFL’s independent Club Financial Review panel will decide on any punishment.
But a source close to the EFL warned: “Nobody at the League is saying that everything at Reading is fine.
“The League is in discussions with the club. If a points cut is applied, it will be immediate.”
The loss of six points would see boss Paul Ince’s Reading drop from 15th to 21st place — six points above the drop zone.
Speaking about the deduction before Reading’s 5-0 loss to Middlesbrough on Saturday, manager Ince told Berkshire Live: “I think it’s going to be next week [when a decision is made], I don’t know what day.
“We want to know – if we get it then great, give it to us, and if not, let us get on with the rest of the season.
“We’re on 44 points [at the moment in the Championship] – until someone tells me, the players or the fans differently, that’s how we’ve got to look at the situation.
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
“What’s happened is not an issue myself or Mark Bowen have created. It’s a historical issue which we can’t do anything about.”
He then went on to add: “We’re trying to do things the right way and have complied with the EFL and the rules.
“We haven’t spent, we can’t overspend… that’s the sad thing about it because we have complied with everything the EFL has given to us and yet we’ve performed in the way we have.
“We can’t cry about it. If it comes, it comes, we deal with it and we all have to get together – us, fans and players all need to galvanise each other to stay in the league. That’s something we are capable of doing.
“Even if we get six points, hopefully we’ll have a bit of breathing space. We have to pull together, it’s not a nice situation but we’ve done it before.”