Sheffield Wednesday fans are boycotting their televised Championship fixture at home to Middlesbrough, with the club experiencing increasing financial turmoil under owner Dejphon Chansiri
Another boycott took place against Grimsby Town in September(Image: Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Thousands of Sheffield Wednesday supporters are boycotting their home game against Middlesbrough, as they continue to protest Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership. The Owls are languishing rock bottom of the Championship after 10 matches, winning just one league game all season.
Former manager Danny Rohl, who was appointed by Rangers this week, walked out towards the end of pre-season and left his replacement, Henrik Pedersen, to sift through the wreckage. Wednesday had just 15 first-team players available for their opening game of the season against Leicester, symptomatic of their crisis.
But their troubles off the pitch are much more serious. Chansiri, the Thai businessman who purchased the Yorkshire club in 2015, is being urged to sell his 100 per cent stake after years of fan protests.
His asking price is understood to be around £100million, more than two-and-a-half times what he paid for Wednesday a decade ago. No buyer has been found, but things could be about to change after Pedersen and Co. welcome second-placed Middlesbrough to Hillsborough.
Mirror Football breaks down the situation ahead of the Championship clash, which is live on Sky Sports.
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It emerged last week that Sheffield Wednesday will ‘imminently’ be served with a winding-up petition over money the club owes to HMRC. A joint investigation by BBC Radio Sheffield and the Sheffield Star found that they owe £1m.
A winding-up petition would increase pressure Chansiri to sell Wednesday, who are already under five separate EFL embargoes. The club have failed to pay wages on time in five of the last seven months.
Supporters’ Trust call for complete boycott
Wednesday’s televised fixture against Middlesbrough has been chosen as the next step of their Supporters Trust’s ardent protest, as they’ve called for a complete boycott. Vice-chairman of the Trust, James Silverwood, acknowledges that staying away from Hillsborough is difficult for many fans, but ‘it’s all for the right cause’.
“We are aware it is a considerable sacrifice, but we’re asking for a sacrifice for a reason, for a purpose, for a greater good, to help accelerate Dejphon Chansiri’s decision to sell Sheffield Wednesday Football Club. We’re taking a stand as fans to say that we will no longer fund our own decline,” Silverwood said via The Yorkshire Post.
It’s hoped that the empty stands being shown on television will serve as a powerful message.
Do you agree with boycotts? Have your say in the comments section.
Sheffield Wednesday fans want Dejphon Chansiri to sell the club(Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)Previous protests
It won’t be the first time this season that the home stands at Hillsborough are near-deserted. Previously, Wednesday fans have boycotted League Cup matches.
August’s penalty-shootout win against Yorkshire rivals Leeds United was watched by around 7,000 – 50 per cent of whom where away fans. In the third round against Grimsby Town, Trust members again voted for a boycott, as Wednesday slumped to a 1-0 defeat to the League Two side.
Earlier this month, there was another form of protest. The Owls’ clash with Coventry City was briefly delayed after a small group of home fans ran onto the pitch.
In the 10th minute, Wednesday supporters joined together to chant against Chansiri, prompting some to invade the pitch and force referee Adam Herczeg to take both teams over to the sideline.
Black and gold scarves have been a symbol of the protests(Image: Jess Hornby/Getty Images)Emergency signing
If you thought that Wednesday’s problems couldn’t get any worse, think again. On Saturday, Ethan Horvath was sent off as he desperately tried to help Pedersen’s side salvage a draw away to Charlton Athletic. It forced defender Liam Palmer to don the gloves for the final minutes of their 2-1 loss.
Hovarth’s straight red card, leading to a one-game ban, left Wednesday without a senior goalkeeper to face Middlesbrough. Wednesday moved to sign ex-Boro goalkeeper Joe Lumley on a seven-day emergency loan from Bristol City.
In just a week at the 158-year-old club, Lumley will no-doubt witness the ongoing turmoil.
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