The Supporters Trust at Reading have released a statement to express their disappointment after the club was fined £200,000 for breaching FA regulations.
As well as being served a hefty fine, Nigel Howe has been suspended from all football activity for six months relating to a deal with an intermediary dating back to 2019.
Despite the suspension, the club has confirmed that this will not affect Howe’s role in helping complete any potential takeover deal.
Michael Gilkes and Sue Hewett have also been warned by the FA about their future conduct.
A statement from STAR says: “STAR are disappointed to learn of the harsh FA sanctions announced today against Reading FC for intermediary regulation breaches.
“We are immensely grateful to Nigel Howe, Michael Gilkes and Sue Hewett for their many years of dedicated service to the Club and are pleased that the Club is providing them with support.
“We know contract negotiations with agents are frequently complex and require difficult negotiation. In this instance an agent, previously suspended in 2017 for entering into a contract with a minor despite not being authorised to do so, pushed Reading FC towards entering a prohibited clause into dialogue regarding the players contract.
“ In 2019 this player was due to sign their first professional contract and it’s very possible negotiations would not have completed without the agent receiving additional financial incentives to their £25,000 fee.
“What is clear from the judgement is that this particular prohibited clause was instigated by the agent in question, therefore this is where we would expect culpability to ultimately fall.
“We are, however, pleased that through the hard work of Nigel, Michael and Sue we protected Reading FC by retaining the player. Not only short term, but also in securing a release clause which also has a future fee based on profit, which may further secure the Club’s future.
“We were privileged to watch him progress through our academy, flourish in our first team and we are extremely proud that he is on the path to having an incredible career since his departure.
“We are also relieved to see that these sanctions contain sensible mitigations which enable Nigel Howe to continue working hard to complete the sale of the Club to a new owner.”
