Reading FC’s threat of expulsion from the English Football League was a crisis-era risk in 2025, not a threat this article can establish as current. Redwood Holdings completed its acquisition of the club, with EFL clearance, on 14 May 2025. The headline quotation “I don’t think that is happening” and the identity of its speaker could not be verified against an original interview or report, so it should not be treated as a confirmed statement by a named owner.
Why Reading faced an expulsion risk
The risk developed during the ownership crisis under Dai Yongge. The EFL disqualified him and required a change in ownership. In a House of Commons debate on 28 April 2025, Reading West and Mid Berkshire MP Yuan Yang described the club as “on the brink of expulsion from the English football league” after its owner had been disqualified by the EFL. Her words describe the situation at that time, not Reading’s status today. Read the 28 April 2025 Hansard debate.
The crisis followed repeated late payments. In written reasons issued after a hearing on 2 February 2024, an EFL Disciplinary Commission said late PAYE payments had occurred in nearly every month of the 2023/24 tax year up to the referral, with two months exceeding £1 million. The decision set out possible sanctions for continued non-payment under the regulations then in force, including a reprimand, fine, registration embargo, points deduction, suspension or recommendation of expulsion, subject to Regulation 94. Those are historical regulatory terms; they should not be read as a statement of the EFL’s current rules. Read the EFL disciplinary decision.
What happened in the takeover
On 14 May 2025, Redwood Holdings completed a 100% acquisition of Reading FC’s shareholding after receiving EFL clearance. Redwood is a subsidiary of Dogwood LLC, owned by Rob Couhig and Todd Trosclair. The reported deal covered the club, the Select Car Leasing Stadium and the Bearwood Park training ground; Couhig became chairman. The Independent’s report on the completed sale.
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Reading’s club statement, reproduced in that report, announced Redwood’s acquisition of “100 per cent of the shareholding in Reading Football Club.” The completed sale followed earlier negotiations and exclusivity arrangements that had lapsed. It also marked Dai Yongge’s divestment of his interest. Read Reading FC’s announcement.
How to interpret the reported sanctions
Figures about the club’s financial and disciplinary difficulties use different scopes and should not be combined as though they were one total.
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- Four winding-up petitions and five points deductions: Yuan Yang cited these figures in Parliament in April 2025, describing the period since the current owners took over. Hansard, 28 April 2025.
- 18 points deducted: The Independent, citing the Press Association, reported this total during Dai Yongge’s tenure. It is a separate report with a different scope and wording, not a reconciliation of the parliamentary figure. The Independent, 14 May 2025.
- HMRC petition withdrawn: Reading said in November 2023 that Dai had provided funds to clear debts owed to HMRC, after which a winding-up petition was withdrawn. That earlier update concerned the crisis at the time; it did not identify the eventual buyer. Reading FC’s November 2023 update.
What is—and is not—established about the quotation
The phrase “I don’t think that is happening” cannot be reliably attributed from the available reporting. Without the originating interview or article, it is not possible to confirm who said it, what “that” referred to, or whether it concerned expulsion, the takeover or another issue. The verified record supports a historical expulsion risk and a completed takeover; it does not support presenting that phrase as a confirmed owner’s response.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What was known after the sale
A Reading FC Q&A listing dated 2 October 2025 identifies Couhig as owner and says the club was still negotiating with the EFL on issues raised in that Q&A. The listing does not establish what those issues were or how the negotiations ended. See the Reading FC Q&A listing.
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The verified material establishes the takeover and the historical crisis through 2025; it does not establish the club’s ownership or regulatory position as of October 2026.
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