Sheffield Wednesday: Everything fans of Championship club have done this season to show anger against Dejphon Chansiri ownership - from boycott to season tickets
Fans of Championship football team Sheffield Wednesday have voiced their frustration at the club’s ownership through various protest tactics.
Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust (SWST) have called for all Owls fans to completely boycott their side’s clash with Middlesbrough this month, as they announced the next stage of their protests against owner Dejphon Chansiri. The club is currently in a state of limbo due to the Thai’s ownership, with six EFL embargoes currently in place for various breaches of EFL regulation - including the latest which saw players not paid their September wages on time.
Fans have grown increasingly frustrated that Chansiri is yet to sell the club. Supporters have been protesting throughout the season, which includes requesting that people don’t purchase official club merchandise or buy anything at Hillsborough.
On Saturday 4 October, the game against Coventry City had to be temporarily suspended as some fans staged a pitch invasion. Now, the supporters trust, ‘in solidarity’ with those supporters who staged the invasion, have called for a full boycott of the Boro game on October 22. Not only is it the Owls’ next home game, it is also being broadcast live on Sky and can therefore have maximum impact.
The SWST is also calling on fans not to renew their season tickets. The SWST statement read: “The crisis at Sheffield Wednesday under Dejphon Chansiri's ownership is not a short-term slump; it is a long-term issue. It has been years of decline, division, and disconnection from the community that has given this club life.
“In solidarity with fellow supporters who yesterday risked jobs and livelihoods to protest against Dejphon Chansiri, we today announce the next stage in our campaign to convince him to sell our club. 1. We ask our members and wider fanbase not to purchase season tickets during any early-bird phase of sales, which we believe is likely to come earlier than ever before, possibly even during October.
“2. We're asking everyone who can, including season ticket holders, to go a step further now and enact a full boycott of the home game against Middlesbrough, live on Sky on October 22. The Middlesbrough game is a prime opportunity to communicate to Chansiri via national media that we will not continue to fund our own decline.
“Your empty seat will speak louder than a thousand words. Instead, we ask supporters to watch the Middlesbrough game at your local pub in Sheffield, ensuring your hard-earned money stays in our community. Change will come when we all understand the power we hold together. Use it. Embrace it. And together we can build a better future for Sheffield Wednesday.”
Other forms of protest have include banners and scarves. At the opening Championship match vs Leicester, banners reading “SWFC for sale – enough is enough” were displayed. Fans delayed taking their seats until 5 minutes after kick-off.
In some matches, fans turned their backs to the pitch at the 10th minute mark (10th minute being symbolic), with chants of “Dejphon Chansiri get out” etc. Fans are also using yellow and black as “protest colours” (rather than usual club colours) in demonstrations and marches, and have been holding scarves of these colours.