Sheffield Wednesday have been hit with a 12 point deduction and left 13 points adrift at the foot of the English Championship table after it was confirmed that they had been placed into administration following the departure of long term and controversial owner Dejphon Chansiri.
Administrators were appointed after HMRC were set to issue a winding-up petition against the club. Talks to find a new owner have yet to be concluded forcing the club to go down the route of administration.
Sheffield Wednesday released a statement saying:
“The administrators were appointed following significant efforts to agree a sale to a credible future custodian in recent weeks which unfortunately could not be concluded and amid rising pressure from creditors.”
EFL rules state that any club that enters administration are subject to an immediate 12 point deduction and this leaves Wednesday on -6 points with relegation to League 1 being almost inevitable.
In a statement, the EFL said:
“Whilst the development results in the automatic deduction of 12 points in accordance with regulations agreed by all clubs, it also presents Sheffield Wednesday with the opportunity to move matters towards a successful sale and secure future under new ownership.”
Chansiri took over in March 2015 with promises to bring the club back to the Premier League for the first time since relegation in 2000. They came close after losing the play-off final to Hull City in 2016, but that was the closest they came to realising that dream.
Issues with the Thai businessman’s ownership began when the club was deducted 6 points in the 2020-21 season for breaking club spending rules, and since then have been subject to five separate EFL embargos and wages have not been paid on time for five of the past seven months.
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust (SWST), who have been boycotting games in protest of the poor running of the club, have announced they are ending their boycott after the news that administration was confirmed. Starting with the next home match against Oxford United.
SWST board member Rob Brookes said in a statement:
“Communications are going out as we speak to completely reverse the boycott situation. (We are) Trying to get as many back into the ground, people into the club shop, back onto the concourse. We hope it will be a bumper crowd tomorrow.”
The administration announcement has also been recognised by Westminster as current Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says this is why an independent football regulator (IFR) set up by the current Labour government is a positive for football.
Speaking in a TV interview, Nandy said:
“Situations like this are exactly why this government set up the new independent football regulators. Owners should be good custodians who act with their club’s best interests in mind and clearly, in this instance, that has not been the case.”
The Football Governance Act became law in July, and the first chair of the IFR David Kogan will now seek the power to fully investigate the situation at the South Yorkshire based club. Chansiri is believed to have been living in his native Thailand for the entirety of this period of disaster for the Owls.
