Latest news with #SheffieldWednesdaySupportersTrust
The Sun
04-08-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Championship away end to be EMPTY live on Sky Sports with fans set to launch furious protest
THE Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust has announced plans to protest against club owner Dejphon Chansiri at Sunday's opening Championship fixture at Leicester. Chansiri is under mounting pressure to sell the club as a spiralling financial crisis left players and staff unpaid on time last week for a third successive month. 2 2 The Trust has called on fans to delay entry to their seats until five minutes after kick-off, while a large banner will be displayed in "a visibly empty away end" at the King Power Stadium. Details of "stronger action" at the Owls' first home game of the season against Stoke on August 16 will be announced soon, the Trust said. A Trust statement read: "With (Sunday's) match live on Sky Sports, a visibly empty away end will highlight the seriousness of our club's plight to a national audience. "An additional impactful, visual large-scale display has been arranged for the day, which we hope will make a huge statement. "While we are aware stronger action is required this season, we do not feel this is the correct fixture, the opportunity for nationwide coverage is too good to miss. "Further details for stronger action at our first home game against Stoke City, will be provided very soon. "We thank supporters for their incredible backing in these difficult times." Chansiri, who bought the club for a reported £37.5million from Milan Mandaric in 2015, is trying to sell up and recently confirmed he turned down a £40million bid, while talks with various other interested parties have stalled. The club has been sanctioned by the EFL for various financial breaches since 2017 and are currently under three embargoes relating to late payments to HMRC, unpaid debts over transfer fees and failing to pay players and staff on time. Under a registration embargo, Wednesday are unable to sign players, including free agents, in this summer's window or the following two in 2026. Sheffield Wednesday star Jamal Lowe breaks silence on threat to strike as Championship club's crisis deepens Staff wages were paid late in March, May, June and July, while a behind-closed-doors friendly against Burnley on Saturday was cancelled after players refused to play. Josh Windass and Michael Smith had their contracts terminated by mutual consent this summer to allow them to join Wrexham and Preston and it has been reported that defender Max Lowe has handed in his notice. There is growing concern within the EFL over whether the Owls will be able to play their first game of the season, while the club has also been forced to close the North Stand at Hillsborough after the Safety Advisory Group refused to issue a safety certificate until renovation work had been completed.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is Chansiri's asking price too high?
"The silence is killing everybody. Nobody knows what's happening; the managerial position, the wages position with the players, he's managed to pay some of the staff if not all of them," Ian Bennett of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust tells BBC Radio Sheffield. "It's basically a disgrace. It should never have got to this situation." Advertisement BBC Radio Sheffield's Football Heaven hosts special guests including Bennett, Clive Betts MP, former owner Milan Mandaric and Daily Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath to talk about the financial turmoil surrounding Sheffield Wednesday under current owner Dejphon Chansiri. The episode was recorded before the club was handed restrictions over spending in the next three transfer windows after failing to pay staff wages on time. With Chansiri seemingly unwilling to sell the club for less than £100m, many Owls fans are beginning to worry that the Thai businessman has unrealistic expectations. But while some see Chansiri's valuation as an inflated price, according to football finance expert Professor Dan Plumley the devout fan base and potential of Premier League football does make the purchase price "tricky". Advertisement "What we often miss in club takeovers is the sell of the upside," Plumley said. "That's where you can start to stretch those valuations and we can have an argument about whether they are realistic or unrealistic in the context of the finances - but with a football club, you are buying into that other side of things as well." Watch the full radio special on BBC iPlayer.
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Saturday's protest 'struck a chord'
The protest on Saturday, arranged by the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust, was the most participated in protest I can recall at Hillsborough. As noted a few times recently, this isn't a fan base with much appetite for protest. You're unlikely to see anything like you're witnessing at Spurs currently or Manchester this one apparently struck a chord. Not everyone took part but a lot of people accepted the call to turn their backs on the pitch in the 10th minute against Oxford, selected to mark 10 years of Dejphon Chansiri's reign as Chairman. Calls for Chansiri to go were heard in the stadium during the minute-long plan from the Trust clearly sent a message. Chansiri published a letter to supporters just before the game where he apologised for the recent situation of unpaid players and senior staff. He admitted he would happily leave the club if someone more suitable comes though, he also said he had no intention to leave. He also admitted his lack of interest in a NDA with any prospective buyer, which some argue is a roadblock to ever discovering if a stronger alternative is out there or any future Supporters Trust read the letter and quickly published a response saying it was still time for Chansiri "to do the honourable thing and step aside once a buyer offering market valuation is found."All attention now turns to a Tuesday meeting between Chansiri and a supporters engagement panel, which includes the Trust. What will the chairman say? Will the wider fan base find out what is discussed? Will fans be provided with answers to the significant number of questions they tell us they want asked? Will there be further protests, with Sheffield Wednesday playing two games over the Easter weekend?We recently requested an opportunity to interview the chairman but were told he isn't doing any audio interviews. Clarity is required for fans who have been very patient during what has been at times a turbulent period. They've been asked to pay high ticket prices compared to other clubs and they've been asked to pay for early bird season tickets at Christmas time. They've invested their money and faith into the club and deserve to know what's going on.
