Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has labelled Dai Yongge 'insidious' after last week's decision to pay the non-playing staff late.
News broke last Thursday that there was not the funding to pay all staff on time, so the decision was made to pay the playing staff in full to avoid a new points deduction, while non-playing staff received a portion on time and the rest on Monday.
Maguire, a lecturer at Liverpool University and a co-host of the award-winning Price of Football podcast, labelled the Chinese businessman 'insidious' and praised Royals fans for their peaceful protest during Sunday's FA Cup defeat at Eastleigh.
Thanks to everyone at @POF_POD for the #ReadingFC coverage.
— Sell Before We Dai (@SellBeforeWeDai) December 7, 2023
Dai Yongge is described as "insidious"
Reading fans "Should hugely be applauded for non-violent, direct action which gets attention"@itvfootball rightly commended again for such comprehensive coverage.@james_e1871… https://t.co/3Q3kEoAeC9
In the latest episode of the podcast, Maguire said: "I can only describe the behaviour of Dai Yongge, the owner, as insidious. To pay the players in order to ensure that you don’t trigger another points deduction, but not to pay other members of staff. It’s sneaky. Dick Dastardly himself would even think that it’s going a bit far. The other members of staff, they’ve got direct debits, like we all do, that go out on the first of the month. The staff will have had their credit rating negatively impacted by Dai Yongge’s decision to only part-pay their wages. The wages now have been paid, which is a good thing.
"The approach taken by Reading fans should be applauded. Non-violent direct action which gets attention."
Negotiations between Yongge and Genevra Associates remain ongoing over a potential takeover.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here