Sheffield Wednesday placed under embargo as Championship crisis club suffer fresh blow

Sheffield Wednesday have officially been placed under a transfer embargo by the EFl for 'non-payment' of players. The sanction comes after players, coaches and non-playing football staff were informed that their wages for May would be delayed.

Many are still without money that is owed to them. There has been no comment yet from the club on the embargo, though they did acknowledge the charges submitted against the club by the EFL earlier this week.

A statement read: “Sheffield Wednesday acknowledge the statement issued by the EFL on Tuesday afternoon. The club continue to seek a resolution regarding outstanding salaries due for the month of May at the earliest possible opportunity.

"Mr Chansiri sincerely apologises to all players, coaches and staff affected and everyone connected with the club. We will make no further comment at this time.”

Under embargo rules, Wednesday will only be able to sign players when there is no transfer or loan fee involved, and they are not allowed to have a squad bigger than 23 players of ‘professional standing’. The embargo will only be lifted when all the players have been paid in full.

The EFL announced earlier this week that they had charged Wednesday with multiple breaches of their regulations. They have also charged Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri.

A statement read: "Sheffield Wednesday Football Club has been charged with multiple breaches of EFL Regulations relating to payment obligations. 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.

"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. The Club and Mr Chansiri have 14 days to respond to the charges."

Image: PA) PA)

Wednesday finished 12th in the Championship in the season just gone, nine points ahead of the relegation zone, but 10 points adrift of the play-off places. Highly-rated boss Danny Rohl has been heavily linked with an exit from the Owls.

Chansiri has been in charge of Wednesday for 10 years and his tenure has been dogged by financial issues. The club were placed under a registration embargo in both the 2023-24 and 24-25 seasons and were deducted six points in 20-21, a campaign in which they were relegated to League One, for breaching spending rules.

Clive Betts, the Labour MP for Sheffield South East has urged the Thai businessman to sell up. He said: "It breaks my heart to see the club I have followed all my life being held hostage by an owner who clearly has no interest or care for us.

"It is clear that Chansiri does not have the ability or resources to fund and invest in Sheffield Wednesday. He must accept that he needs to sell Wednesday to prevent the complete collapse of the club … we as fans deserve better."

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