Barnsley FC have reportedly contacted the EFL to highlight the 'sporting advantage' their fellow relegation-battlers Reading have had this season.
Reds chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad has written to EFL chief executive Trevor Birch, as reported by The Athletic.
Reading accepted a six-point deduction in November for breaching the league’s profitability and sustainability rules, with six more points suspended until the end of next season. That was after they lost far more than the threshold permitted by the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
They posted a loss of almost £36million for last season and have been active in the transfer market while replacing manager Veljko Paunovic with Paul Ince.
The letter states: “We believe Reading are at a sporting advantage in the 2021-22 season, by continuing to operate a business model that is incompatible with P&S compliance. Barnsley are at a competitive disadvantage now. We therefore find it objectionable that a breach that is occurring now would not be sanctioned until 2022-23.
“We are keen to avoid a similar situation to that which Wycombe Wanderers find themselves in, whereby we are forced to take legal action if sanctions are applied in a non-coterminous period when the continuous and sustained breach of regulations occurred.”
Wycombe have an ongoing dispute with Derby who were deducted points for breaching the same rules two years after being charged, having just edged out Wycombe in a relegation fight the previous season.
Reading are currently fourth-bottom, six points clear of the Reds who could halve that gap if they win their game in hand at home to Stoke on Tuesday.
Head coach Poya Asbaghi told the Chronicle: "The only thing I think about Reading is there is a game against them at home after the international break. That's the only thing I can concentrate on. What happens in the boardrooms is not something I can affect.
"I don't have much opinion in this matter. I hope and know the teams who follow the rules will get what they deserve. But I don't have good knowledge of this situation.
"I can just say I trust the process and people know better than me how to deal with it.
"We still have a possibility to take control in our own hands on the pitch. I have to focus on that as a coach. With what happens outside the pitch, I hope people make the right decisions."
