Emotional Sheffield Wednesday fans staged a mock funeral procession with a coffin to represent “the death of the football club”.
Protesters carrying banners, whistles, and flares made their way through Hillsborough Park before the Owls’ match against Stoke earlier.
Fans want owner Dejphon Chansiri to sell the club during a rocky period, expressing their “sadness” and “heartache” and calling the situation “soul destroying”.
Mr Chansiri and Sheffield Wednesday FC have both been contacted for comment.
The protest occurred just days after Sheffield Council lifted a prohibition notice on Hillsborough’s North Stand. The council closed the stand at the end of last month due to worries about its structural integrity.
It follows months of turmoil in which the club was subjected to a number of registration embargoes and manager Danny Rohl resigned by mutual consent.
In June, the EFL punished the club and owner Chansiri with frequently failing to pay players and other personnel on time. PFA chief executive Maheta Molango described the situation as “shocking” at the time to BBC Sport.
Wednesday fans recently protested the Thai businessman’s position in the club’s first league game of the season against Leicester City.
Ian Bennett, chairman of the SWFC fans’ trust, has been a Wednesday supporter for 60 years.
He stated that the coffin’s symbolism represents the club’s mortality, and the dates on the coffin range from 1867, when the club was founded, to 2025. We hope people perceive it as a representation of what Mr Chansiri is doing to the club.
“My grandfather and father were Wednesdayites, and so are my daughters and grandchildren. This is my life, and what’s going on is destroying my soul.”
“The Wednesday community is fantastic, everybody knows each other, and we want to keep the pressure on the chairman and try to get him to leave.”
Miranda Woolhouse, 47, was present with her daughter Annabel, 25. She stated, “I’ve been a fan for almost 36 years, and this is the saddest period I can recall, truly sad.
It feels like we’re being disassembled piece by piece. “Football gives us a release in life.
We work hard, and football provides a vacation while also allowing us to see our friends and family.
Watching Wednesday is a very precious experience for us, and the thought that one individual may tear it all apart is sad.”
Annabel, her daughter, concurred: “We are a football family and the fans are so close with each other, this just feels like it’s tearing everybody apart.”
Peter Chan stated, “I’m not going to buy any shirts, souvenirs, food, or drink from him inside the ground. I’m a caretaker; I have to look after my mother because she has dementia, so football is a release and an escape, but it’s no longer joyful, which is quite difficult.”
Rob Brookes was recently appointed to the board of trustees of the supporters trust. He stated, “I purchased my first season ticket in 1966, during the FA Cup and World Cup years, and have been passionate ever since about Wednesday.
I don’t believe the club has ever been in a worse position than today.”
Yan Brookes-Wang, Kerry Miskelly, and Carole Hicking had attended the demonstration together. Ms Brookes-Wang stated:
“I’m upset and depressed about where our club is. I just want anyone or any organization that can aid us to put pressure on Chansiri to leave the club.” Kerry Miskelly is a fan since the 1980s.
“My father is a Wednesday fan, so it has always been a part of me, and seeing the club’s current plight is devastating.
“I truly feel like sobbing. It’s made me quite depressed. It’s essentially ruining our club. I don’t know where it’s heading, and I’m afraid.”
Carole Hicking added, “Any commercial business would not have a single person in charge, but rather a board of directors who understand how to run the business.
“I am sad today because it is our first home game. This is not what we should be doing; we should be shouting and singing. We’ll stick together as Wednesday fans because we adore the team.”
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