EFL told to make Sheffield Wednesday 'exception' by ex-CEO for points deduction | OneFootball

A former Premier League CEO has urged the EFL to make an exception to the rulebook for Sheffield Wednesday, who are set for another points deduction

Sheffield Wednesday are now aspriring to look towards a new and potentially-exciting era under David Storch as he continues to intensify his takeover efforts of the Championship crisis club ahead of returning to League One in the 2026/27 campaign, although one issue will immediately await the Owls in the third-tier - and it's been the subject of rife discourse.

The Owls became the earliest team to suffer relegation in English Football League history when their fate was officially sealed with a 2-1 defeat away to Steel City rivals Sheffield United in February.

Relegation, however, represented a certainty for Henrik Pedersen's side before a ball was even kicked this term owing to a litany of crises at the hands of now-ex-chairman Dejphon Chansiri, whose failure to pay wages on time ultimately saw the Hillsborough outfit docked some 18 points from the EFL earlier in the campaign.

The Thai businessman's often-destructive influence is continuing to cause issues behind the scenes months on from his departure, which plunged the club into administration, and Storch has faced no shortage of stumbling blocks as his Arise Capital Partners consortium seeks to complete a takeover.

That's because, at this moment in time, Wednesday will be starting the following campaign with a -15 point penalty due to the bid of Storch's group representing around 6p in the pound to unsecured creditors - namely Chansiri - which is some way short of the required threshold to avoid such sanctions of 25p in the pound.

Storch himself has spoken out in protest of the decision, even detailing unsuccessful efforts to communicate with Chansiri in a recent admission, and many have taken issue with the EFL's inclination to enforce further punishment on the Owls after so much suffering of late.

EFL told to make Sheffield Wednesday exception by ex-Everton CEO as David Storch takeover rumbles on

Another figurehead to have slammed Wednesday's impending points deduction is former Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness, who urged the EFL to make an exception to the rulebook for Sheffield Wednesday and cited how he believes that the club shouldn't be punished for Chansiri's mistakes.

It's a stance echoed by the masses and it's Wyness' view that the EFL needs to adopt a more club-first policy in circumstances akin to Wednesday's.

Speaking to Football Insider, Wyness explained: "The EFL will probably say that this is the way that they want to apply the rules consistently across all situations.

“However, this is punishing the club and not punishing a bad owner in Chansiri. That is the attitude that they have got to take.

"They are now actually doing everything that the EFL and the new independent regulator said they don’t want to do.

This is about supporting football clubs and rescuing football clubs, and now what they are doing is making that harder and harder. Although Chansiri did try hard at the start, he proved to be a bad owner in the end."

"He should not be rewarded or given any help with his investment.

"I’m afraid that the EFL has got to look at the rulebook and find a way to make an exception in this case, and that should be welcomed by other clubs in the EFL.

“That is the way forward, to support clubs themselves and make sure the punishment is not on the club but is on the owner that creates the problem."

Sheffield Wednesday need a new start under David Storch

One of the main gripes among Sheffield Wednesday fans in recent weeks has been the fact that Chansiri's presence, and the mess he left behind, is continuing to cause problems and create hurdles for Storch to overcome in his commendable efforts to take over the League-One bound side.

Wednesday were put through so much turmoil during the latter stages of Chansiri's reign, and Storch is already acutely aware of the clean-up job which awaits him at Hillsborough, but the Owls now really need to move on and would be left incensed with yet another steep points deduction after falling under fresh ownership.

Just when Wednesday can really have a clean slate only remains to be seen right now, but that won't matter just yet as fans are simply desperate for Storch's takeover to be sealed.