LONDON - The English Football League (EFL) has charged Thai-owned Sheffield Wednesday with multiple breaches of regulations after the second-tier club failed to pay players’ wages on time.
The club had already been placed under registration embargoes in the last two seasons, having received a six-point deduction during the 2020-21 season for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
“The owner of Sheffield Wednesday, Dejphon Chansiri, has also been charged with causing the club to be in breach of EFL regulations despite his commitment to fund the cash requirements of the club,” the EFL said in a statement on Tuesday.
“All charges relate to both the ultimate beneficial owner and the club failing to meet their obligations to pay players’ wages on time and in full in March and May 2025.”
Mr Dejphon’s family are the majority shareholders of Thai Union Plc, one of the world’s largest seafood processors. Mr Dejphon had acknowledged the charges and apologised to everyone connected with the club, the team said.
“The club continue to seek a resolution regarding outstanding salaries due for the month of May at the earliest possible opportunity,” it added.
The club and Mr Dejphon have 14 days to respond to the charges.
The Owls, who spent eight seasons in the Premier League in the 1990s, finished 12th in the Championship in the recently concluded season.
Mr Dejphon has had a rocky relationship with the team and its supporters, who believe his ownership group has failed to invest enough to build a competitive club.
Mr Dejphon led a consortium that acquired Sheffield Wednesday for £37.5 million in 2015. Since then, he has poured an estimated £150 million into the club.
The year after he took over, the club reached the Championship playoff final, where a win would have lifted them back into the big-money promised land of the Premier League. But it was not to be.
Criticism of the club grew so intense in 2023 that Mr Dejphon issued an extraordinary open letter complaining about “insults” and negativity from the fans, and saying he was open to selling the team if the right offer came along.
He later said he had “no plans” to sell the team.