A Sheffield Wednesday fan recently caught the attention of some of his fellow Owls supporters after he posted a tweet sharing some “worrying reports” from The Athletic regarding Wednesday, the club’s owner Dejphon Chansiri and their ongoing financial fair play issues with the EFL.
As per the BBC, the EFL charged Wednesday with misconduct back in November after the club sold their Hillsborough stadium to Chansiri “to try to avoid breaking spending rules”.
Now, a report from The Athletic has recently shared the news that “several” Championship clubs are “considering legal action” against the EFL should they be relegated whilst other clubs, including the Owls, are “allowed to start next season in the Championship on minus points because of financial fair play (FFP) sanctions”.
This report goes on to share some comments from an anonymous club owner who stated that Sheffield Wednesday’s ongoing financial issues must be resolved, claiming that the Owls could even suffer “automatic relegation”.
Some Wednesday fans have been reacting to this report with concern, while others questioned the report’s reliability. Read the reactions of some Owls fans to this report in the tweets below.
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#swfc Worrying reports via @TheAthleticUK: Chansiri “hasn’t got the means to put money against the clubs assets”. He was already funding £20m+ losses a season before Covid-19 hit. If he stops doing so, he can hold any prospective buyer ransom by refusing to sell the stadium… pic.twitter.com/TYZgUSn3kd
— Peter A. Løhmann (@ploehmann) May 20, 2020
all though not the most reliable source as someone clearly has an agenda against him/us, I am more worried how Chansiri will be able to cover losses each year on a long term bases if we’re running out of investment loopholes? I’m sure Chansiri will say nothing to worry about…
— Mark (@mark42swfc) May 20, 2020
I’d almost forgot about the mess we were in,exciting times ahead ?
— Paul Beadling (@pbeadling) May 20, 2020
Always the joy of summer Peter. Keep it up! ???????????
— Andy McElwaine (@andymcelwaine) May 20, 2020
Are you concerned by this report?YES
NO
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That article is terrifying for a number of reasons. As unsubstantiated as some of it may seem, the mere suggestion is horrific. A relegation would spell absolute disaster.
— Matt Ward (@matttheowl) May 20, 2020
EFL and other clubs won’t let it drop, worrying times for the club staff, players & fans over the coming months.
— Ed Jepson (@19epj) May 20, 2020
And you honestly believe that?
— Pricey (@PriceySWFC) May 20, 2020
Who is the source… Harsh claims
— Sergej Odström (@SergejOdstrom) May 21, 2020
What does “hasn’t got the means to put against club assets” actually mean? The club club increasing debt against remaining assets wouldn’t help. Chansiri himself cannot raise funds v stadium & put into the club within further breach of FFP. So what does the source mean?
— Matt Hall (@MattHall1974) May 20, 2020
What do we think?
This report from The Athletic states that a hearing regarding Wednesday’s issues with the EFL “is imminent” and it may be fair to say that a negative result for the club could be concerning. Considering that this report mentions “automatic relegation” as a possible punishment for the Owls, as well as the fact that other EFL clubs are allegedly set to take legal action if they are relegated whilst Wednesday would be allowed to remain in the league despite breaching rules, it may be understandable why some Owls fans have been concerned by this news.