Reading chairman John Madejski has sympathy for the duo who were used as scapegoats. The League had hoped to win the unpaid £178.5 million from Carlton & Granada, owners of the now bankrupt ITV Digital.
The Royals chairman told Reading World: "It has been muted for some time that they would go if the court case didn't go our way. They actually had quite a lot of support from the League.
"They weren't the villans of the peice by any means. It's sad that they are being pillored whent he original deal was with Carlton & Granada, and on the face of it, they have taken the blame for that deal.
"On the other hand the brief should have been stronger when they went to court as the evidence appeared pretty flimsy."