Sheffield Wednesday fans are being put through it at the moment, and the club and its owner, Dejphon Chansiri, have been hit with a new blow to start the week.
After failing to pay players and staff for May — an issue that has still not been resolved at the time of writing — Sheffield Wednesday have been placed under embargo.
Dejphon Chansiri has been quiet on the situation, while staff have had to take up emergency funding to bridge the gap until they are eventually paid.
Owls fans have slammed the disgraceful scenario unfolding, while the club now faces more punishments if things aren’t resolved soon.
John West and Thai Union Group distance themselves from Dejphon Chansiri
Last week, we revealed that Chansiri could be banned from the EFL if he is put through the Owners and Directors Test again.
Now, in a shocking new twist, Chansiri appears to have been disowned by the very companies he was supposedly backed by and had a stake in.
In a nutshell, Chansiri’s family own the Thai Union Group (TUG), and they acquired MWBrands in 2010. Among the companies under that umbrella is John West, the tuna brand.
It has long been assumed that the TUG was behind Chansiri and his work at Sheffield Wednesday, but a corporate statement from John West on Monday suggests otherwise.
They took to Twitter/X to say: “Corporate Statement regarding SWFC: Neither Thai Union Group nor John West Foods have any financial interest in, or connection with, Sheffield Wednesday F.C. For further info, please contact the club directly.”
It is a worrying signal of where things are heading for the club and Chansiri when the family business no longer wants to be associated with Sheffield Wednesday.
Reacting to the statement, reporter Alan Biggs simply said, “Disowned? Certainly distanced.” And that about sums it up, with Chansiri clearly now at odds with the powers that be in the Thai Union Group.
What’s next for Sheffield Wednesday?
While player sales, like the recent deal to sell Caelan-Kole Cadamarteri to Manchester City for £1.5m, could help the cashflow issues at Sheffield Wednesday, there is still no real end in sight to this problem.
There is talk of a takeover at Sheffield Wednesday but that has gone quiet recently, and fans are not even sure if Adam Shaw would be the answer.
Indeed, at this moment in time, it is said that even new ownership would not see the embargo lifted on the club.
That embargo means the Owls cannot pay a fee for any player throughout the summer transfer window (free transfers and loans are still allowed). But, if the unpaid wages (and impending payments to HMRC) are not sorted soon, that embargo could stretch to a three-window ban.
That would be a disaster for the club, obviously. And, all the while, the Owls are still faced with the prospect of losing manager Danny Rohl, who has been open about his desire to leave.
Never a dull day in S6, it seems. Though we’re sure Wednesday fans would just love to get off this rollercoaster and enjoy a boring, simple existence.
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