Simon Jordan has claimed that Reading should have been relegated as a punishment for breaching EFL regulations.

The Royals revealed yesterday that they had agreed on a penalty with the Football League, with the club hit with an immediate six-point penalty. As well as that, they will potentially be hit with another six-point loss if they fail to follow the business plan that has been agreed over the next few years.

Whilst this will see Veljko Paunovic's men drop to 19th in the table and leave them just four points above the relegation zone, former Crystal Palace owner Jordan, who works for TalkSPORT now, told the radio station that harsher punishments were warranted because of how blatant Reading's offence was.

“It’s about time Reading were sanctioned. You want my view, you start breaking these rules, start relegating these teams and then you’ll start concentrating the minds of those that want to break rules.

“They’re only logic is, ‘we’re going to get out of the division’ and we’ll sail of into the sunset. Reading have reaped what they’ve sewn, they’ve been absolutely begging to get smacked and they’ve got smacked.”

The verdict

This will divide opinion among fans as on one hand, there are more and more clubs who are breaching the rules, so you do begin to wonder if a points deduction is enough, particularly if, as Jordan implies here, clubs don't care about breaking the rules.

However, relegation would be totally unfair on the players and supporters, whilst it would also have a massive impact on the leagues that are so exciting.

So, something may need addressing about this in general, but it's harsh to suggest Reading should be relegated when other clubs have done similar.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.