Report emerges on the extent of Kia Joorabchian’s involvement in Paul Ince’s Reading FC appointment

Businessman Kia Joorabchian was not involved in Championship side Reading’s decision to appoint ex-England international Paul Ince as interim manager, according to The Athletic.

Ince was installed as temporary boss on Saturday evening following the departure of former boss Veljko Paunovic, with the Royals winning just one game in 2022 in what has been a turbulent calendar year for them so far, suffering their record home defeat and a shock loss to sixth-tier side Kidderminster Harriers in the FA Cup.

They may have claimed an impressive 3-2 away victory at the weekend against a capable Preston North End side, but this decision to part ways was taken prior to the clash at Deepdale and Ince will now be joined by academy manager Michael Gilkes for this evening’s game against Birmingham City.

There was a discussion on social media including many of the second-tier side’s supporters on Joorabchian’s potential influence on this decision to appoint Ince considering how left-field it was and murmurings from many outlets regarding his alleged influence on matters at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

According to a separate report from The Athletic back in November, a former employee told the outlet that the 50-year-old was calling all the shots with the Royals currently having no Director of Football in place to take the reins.

This is something the businessman has denied and even went as far as saying he had no influence on the club at all, something that contradicts that November report from The Athletic and an article from The Guardian last month with the two media institutions taking a closer look at the Berkshire outfit’s decline.

But it is now thought he had no say or role in Ince’s arrival at the weekend, potentially good