Protest group Sell Before We Dai has urged Reading FC to give their fans an update on the sale of the club.
It has now been more than a year since Dai Yongge first publicised that he was willing to sell the club, however after negotiations with several parties, the fans are still left in the dark with no progress looking imminent.
A statement released by SBWD reads: “Silence can be golden or deafening. Which is it?
“We’ve always had a policy of piping down during periods of exclusivity. The whole point of Sell Before We Dai was to raise awareness of Reading’s plight for potential new ownership and pressure Dai Yongge into selling the club. So, when the club is apparently being sold, we put ourselves in the background, with our political work continuing behind the scenes.
“However, we’ve also always had a policy of being led by the fans and it’s clear there is a fast-growing disquiet about the total silence from the club.
“Truthfully, we’re a bit torn on this. On the one hand, the silence could be golden. Professional buyers wanting to do due diligence with anonymity and without media distraction is understandable, and, equally, we appreciate that the club do not want a repeat of the Rob Couhig situation – the disappointment felt so much worse because it felt like we were so close.
“However, the silence is now creeping into deafening. We have three main concerns:
Short-term funding
Reading’s previous statements have assured us the club will be funded until a transaction has been completed. Does this remain the case?
Are we at risk of another fire sale of our best young talent, behind the back of our manager? As a reminder, the most extreme fan action was triggered by fans being lied to regarding player sales.
Confirmation that the club remains in a period of exclusivity with a potential buyer
A simple yes or no will do here. You can keep the specifics, but you can – and should – give fans reassurance.
Confirmation the club can be sold
Again, a simple yes or no will do here. You will have seen the same rumours and media articles we have – essentially saying the club is “unsellable”. You can keep the specifics, but you can give fans reassurance.
“We know that every time STAR push for updates, they are met with NDA-related barriers, but it is the club’s responsibility to update fans, not STAR’s.
“With that in mind, we have taken some legal advice and the liberty of writing you a statement we believe would update fans – and without breaching confidentiality agreements. It calls on publicly available information, refers to previous statements and, though it remains light on detail, it is heavy on reassurance.
“Fans don’t expect every detail and this isn’t about performative communication. It’s basic customer service to tell your fans that the single biggest issue facing our club is being worked on.
“If you can’t provide an update as vague as the one we have provided, the volume of fan concerns will get louder with each passing day we’re met by silence.”
