New rule could save Sheffield Wednesday from Dejphon Chansiri nightmare - but it may be too late | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri may be working on borrowed time

Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri has been the source of much heartache among the Owls’ supporters in 2025.

The Steel City side have managed to operate as a remarkably competitive Championship outfit this season, sitting one point shy of safety after nine matches, enjoying strong results against Birmingham City, Wrexham and Portsmouth.

However, off the pitch, Wednesday have been tormented by their owner. Chansiri has failed to pay players on time for five of the last seven months, which led to players such as Michael Smith and Josh Windass exiting the club for free.

The Thai businessman’s financial mismanagement has seen the Owls placed under five different embargoes, limiting their ability to recruit in the transfer market. This led to just Harry Amass and Ethan Horvath joining on loan during the summer gone by, placing the Steel City side as firm relegation favourites.

League position means little to the Hillsborough faithful whilst Chansiri is still in charge, and removing him from that position has been the key focus for many Wednesday supporters this season.

Protests on matchdays have involved entering stadiums late, not buying confectionery inside the ground and not turning up at all in some instances, all with the sole business of forcing the Thai businessman out of their club.

Chansiri’s reported asking price of £100 million has made it almost impossible for interested parties to try and buy the Steel City side, but there may just be light at the end of the tunnel.

New regulator’s rules could save Sheffield Wednesday from Dejphon Chansiri – but they may be too late

Recently, it was revealed that the new Independent Football Regulator have decided that clubs in the Premier League, EFL and National League will need a license to play from the 2027/28 season onward.

Outfits in these divisions will have to match a number of criteria to secure a license, which includes the soundness of their financial plans, how they are engaging with supporters, and how they meet corporate governance standards.

If they can’t demonstrate the soundness of their plans, the regulator has sufficient power to make them more efficiently manage their day-to-day spending, increase cash reserves, control costs, or reduce debt.

Financial sustainability and accountability with supporters are of the highest priority for the IFR, and they will have last resort powers to force owners to divest from clubs in extreme circumstances, where there have been continuous failures to meet licensing conditions.

This could eventually force Chansiri to sell Wednesday, due to the fact that he has continuously failed to engage with supporters and his financial plans have been anything but sound.

The regulators would have enough ammunition to force the Owls’ owner to divest, but 2027 could be too late.

By then, the Thai businessman could have driven Wednesday even further into the ground. If he hasn’t been booted out of Hillsborough by then and continues operating in similar fashion, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Owls suffer successive relegations.

This would leave them in League Two by the time the new rules come into place, which is a harrowing scenario for the Hillsborough faithful.

Administration could force Dejphon Chansiri out of Sheffield Wednesday first

Even though the new regulator’s rules would potentially remove Chansiri from Sheffield Wednesday, administration could be the thing that forces the issue first.

It was recently revealed by the Daily Mail that the Owls are close to being hit with a winding-up petition, which could force Chansiri to put the club into administration.

Another report from BBC Sport stated that the Steel City side owes HMRC £1 million and if the Thai businessman cannot satisfy these demands, he will be forced to turn to administration.

At this point, the EFL can step in to force Chansiri to sell the club on to a new owner, but administration would also see Wednesday hit with a 12-point deduction.