Sheffield Wednesday haven’t dodged punishment, we’ve lived it and breathed it, for years.
Points deductions, transfer restrictions, stripped back squads, off-field chaos, and the worst season in the club’s history, all under an ownership model we as fans had zero control over. The damage wasn’t theoretical, it was real and it was brutal. It’s caused infighting, division and a complete loss of identity. We’ve been ridiculed beyond belief and we lost all pride in our football club.
Administration didn’t give us an advantage, it confirmed how far we’d already fallen. It was an escape from an owner who treat us with immeasurable disrespect.
A reset to zero isn’t leniency, it’s common sense. It’s the EFL recognising that you can’t keep punishing the same club, players and supporters for the same failure of one individual, over and over again.
We never asked for favours.
We asked for a level playing field. To be given the same opportunity as every other club in the league.
#SWFC
BREAKING: Sheffield Wednesday under new ownership after takeover from Arise Capital Partners LLC 🚨
The club will receive no further points deduction next season in League One.
Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest football clubs in the world, their famous name woven into the tapestry of the game. Formed in 1867, elected to the Football League in 1892, founder members of the Premier League, four times champions of England, three times winners of the FA Cup, and the League Cup once. Such honours may be far back in history but Wednesday remain a powerful force in many lives, in families, communities, in Sheffield and beyond.
It would be devastating to Wednesday supporters and deeply damaging to the reputation of English football if Wednesday lost their membership of the EFL because of the behaviour of an owner in Dejphon Chansiri who passed initial EFL ownership tests, was welcomed (let’s not forget), but turned out to be shamelessly irresponsible. Wednesday fans fear the club's existence might be at risk if the EFL imposes further punishments and restrictions that deter potential buyers.
Stronger oversight of owners is clearly required and the EFL and PL did tighten their rules in 2023. The new Independent Football Regulator will introduce a proper licensing system for clubs and better oversight of owners. Unfortunately, the IFR did not come into force early enough to prevent Wednesday's downward slide under Chansiri.
Wednesday are currently in administration and threatened with further EFL sanctions – a 15-point deduction for next season. This season's 18-point deduction all but guaranteed relegation from the Championship (confirmed on Feb 22). The League applies sanctions as punishment for debts and also as a deterrent to other clubs/owners.
The EFL emphasises it is working with all parties to “try and find a solution that can see Sheffield Wednesday continue as a member of the League....but ultimately we have to also apply the terms of the League’s insolvency policy…which seeks to balance the interests, not only of Sheffield Wednesday, but also of the other 71 clubs”.
Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust, fighting hard for their club’s survival, has now released a copy of the EFL’s insolvency policy and argues that it gives the League, in the Trust’s words, “absolute discretion when determining how to deal with clubs experiencing an insolvency event”.
The Trust argues that “…further punitive sanctions risk undermining the very factors the EFL states it must consider - including the effect on supporters, the impact on the local community and the wider credibility of the league itself.
“Sheffield Wednesday supporters are not seeking advantage over other clubs. It is entirely right that all EFL clubs should be treated fairly and consistently. That principle must include Sheffield Wednesday that has already suffered enormously during a decade in which the EFL’s own regulatory oversight failed to prevent the damage that unfolded.
“We urge the EFL to apply its own guidance responsibly and ensure that the focus now is on allowing the club to recover, stabilise and move forward under new ownership. Sheffield Wednesday supporters have suffered enough.” #SWFC #EFL @SWFCTrust
There are 10k more gold shirts available. The profits from any gold shirt purchased between now and Monday will go to Sheffield Wednesday ST #upthetownS
"Fans were already saying enough is enough. We just can’t go on like this". More cashflow problems at #SWFC. Players not paid for March. Dejphon Chansiri continues to embarrass a famous club. The sooner he goes the better.