Sheffield Wednesday fans chirp for change: Dejphon Chansiri urged to get out of club (video)

Sheffield Wednesday fans ramped up the pressure on Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri and his family to get out of the club.

Wednesday supporters made their feelings known prior to and during the club’s English Football League clash with Birmingham City on Friday night increasing pressure on the Chansiri family, who owns the Thai Union Group, the world’s largest canned tuna producer.

The protest garnered overwhelming support from fans, demanding that Dejphon sell the club. High ticket prices and a lack of recent investment were cited as primary grievances, alongside embarrassing public outbursts, poor management, and a failure to address fans’ concerns.

During Wednesday’s match against City at Hillsborough, thousands of Owls’ supporters displayed flyers expressing their disapproval of the Chansiri’s stewardship of the South Yorkshire club. The televised game saw the hosts secure a 2-0 victory, but attention remained fixed on the discontent among fans regarding the club’s ownership.

The Chansiri family, with an estimated net worth of US$575 million, led a consortium in 2015 to acquire Wednesday for £37.5 million, aiming for Premier League promotion by 2017. However, amidst protests and financial troubles in September and October 2023, including an embargo and a request for £2 million (91 million baht) from fans, Chansiri announced he would not invest further in the club.

The 1867 Group sent a statement to The Star, in Sheffield outlining their discontent with the club’s Thai owners.

“Firstly we’d like to thank all who participated in holding up the flyers, particularly those who helped distribute. It was quite a task logistically to ensure we had distribution in the right areas, with the right amount of flyers. Given that this was our first attempt, we’re quite pleased with how that side of things went.

“Whilst handing out the flyers, we had incredibly large positive support in the main. Each volunteer reported the odd rumbling of discontent but in general, people were respectful, whether they agreed or not. This was a concern of ours, so we would like to thank everyone for keeping the debate peaceful.

“In terms of the visual result, the pictures tell the story. There is a huge amount of discontent toward the chairman’s stewardship of the club. Of those not holding up leaflets, we’d suggest many don’t necessarily support the chairman, more don’t think protest is the best way forward.

“One thing this protest certainly should put to bed is the notion that protest of this sort will have a detrimental impact on the team. The three organised protests this season have been on the days of games from which Wednesday have taken seven points.

“You can certainly love the club and not necessarily agree with the owner. Support the team but not the regime. This football club holds a special place in our hearts. We cannot sit back and watch it decay in the way it is doing under this owner.

“That is why we are making a stance, Sheffield Wednesday is better than the recent version of the club we are being served up, away from the pitch. Fans deserve fair, comparable ticketing structures, they deserve adequate investment to compete. They certainly don’t deserve the day-to-day PR circus the club has become. A club which makes so many mistakes, it is draining… Fans deserve transparency and respect, the opposite of what they receive from the owner.

“What is The 1867 Group? It’s simply there to give like-minded supporters a platform to show their discontent towards Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of the club. Last night wasn’t about the group, it was about thousands of like-minded people who want the chairman to stick to his word. He stated if the fans wanted him to leave, he would. Mr Chansiri – the fans have spoken.”