Government update hands Sheffield Wednesday potential takeover boost | OneFootball

Issues relating to Sheffield Wednesday have found all their way to government cabinet meetings, and this could be very good news for Wednesday fans.

The matter of the future of Sheffield Wednesday is finding its way to the very top of government, and this could be very good news for Wednesday fans hoping to see the back of Dejphon Chansiri.

There hasn't been much good news for Sheffield Wednesday fans of late.

In the relegation places at the foot of the Championship, with a threadbare squad, monthly agonising over whether the wages will be paid on time, and with the threat of what seems likely to be a swingeing points deduction hanging over them, no other club's supporters have suffered in that Wednesdayites have since the end of the 2024-25 season.

The quickest and cleanest route out of the mess caused by the mismanagement of Dejphon Chansiri would be a takeover, but offers to buy the club have been rejected and it's been widely reported that Chansiri's own valuation of the club of £100 million is way above any realistic assessment of its actual value.

With this in mind, there's been the impression given that little can be done to remove him from the club that he won't go along with, but all that may be about the change.

Sheffield Wednesday's plight has been discussed at cabinet level

The Sheffield Star reports that the plight of Sheffield Wednesday has caused such concern that it has reached cabinet level. Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, is understood to be worried about the club's current condition, while local MP Clive Betts, a Wednesdayite himself, has already used parliament to describe Wednesday as being "held hostage" by Chansiri, calling upon him to sell the club.

And the Sheffield Star also had a further update about the independent football regulator, and what its role will be when it finally comes into effect later this year, which could be of particular interest to the Wednesday faithful while being bad news for the current Wednesday owner himself.

The independent football regulator could expedite Dejphon Chansiri's departure from Hillsborough

The Sheffield Star also provides an update on the incoming independent football regulator (IFR), and how governance of the game in this country will look after it's up and running. In a statement released on Thursday, the IFR said: "Incumbent owners, directors and senior executives will not need to apply for approval. Good owners, running clubs effectively, will experience minimal impact. However, if the IFR has concerns about the suitability of an incumbent, it will be able to take action."

No regulator within the game can currently force the owner of a football club to divest their shareholding in a club unless under the most extreme of circumstances, and it's generally accepted that this currently would include breaching the current version of the Owners & Directors Test.

But while the specifics are thin on the ground, the statement indicates that they will have considerably higher powers than those which currently exist: "The law gives the IFR the power to hold clubs and individuals to account as and when needed — from financial penalties, and public censure, to requiring an owner to divest from a club. These powers will be used proportionately, in accordance with the IFR’s statutory duties, and with an understanding of the importance of owner investment and risk-taking in English football."

This is all good news for Sheffield Wednesday supporters, who might have been forgiven wondering whether the powers that be have forgotten about them over the last few weeks and months. It's expected that the IFR will be in place before the end of 2025, and they should have the powers to be able force Chansiri to sell the club, whether he wants to or not.