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4th August 2025
04:04pm BST
The players at one of English football’s proudest clubs have issued a statement calling for more information, after their employers failed to pay them on time for the third month in a row.
Championship club Sheffield Wednesday, founded in 1867, are in a perilous financial situation.
After being charged with multiple breaches of EFL financial regulations, Wednesday are likely to begin the next campaign with a points deduction.
On the very same day that their new manager Henrik Pedersen arrived at the club, — to replace the departing Danny Rohl — the Owls' first team squad announced they would play no part in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Premier League side Burnley.
The players have now launched a joint official statement that clears up why they took the decision to not play against Burnley.
The players have made clear that "there has not been, and will not be, any ‘downing of tools’."
In full, it reads: "As has been well publicised, players, coaching and club staff groups at the club have all been impacted by delayed and overdue payment of salaries.
"This has been a worrying time for us as players but, whist we are often the ones in the spotlight, we are not the only ones involved. We stand together in support with all our colleagues employed by the club who have been affected.
"Players and staff are now feeling real, practical impacts in their professional and personal lives and we are extremely concerned at the lack of clarity regarding what is happening and when this will be resolved.
"The decision taken by the players to withdraw from the planned friendly with Burnley was not taken lightly or without consideration. We are fully aware of the added concern this will have caused supporters but trust there is a real understanding of the difficult position we have been put in.
"We want to reassure fans that there has not been, and will not be, any ‘downing of tools’ by any of us on the training ground, and we are all working as hard as we can and supporting each other, the manager and staff.
"However, we, like you, want our focus to be fully on what happens on the pitch and the new season ahead. This is proving to be really challenging and we have made it clear to the club that we want this situation to be addressed as soon as possible so decisions taken like the one not to play at Burnley are avoided in the future. We can then all move forward together as a club."
Wednesday’s season opener against Leicester (August 10) is just days away, and will also be thrown into doubt if the club and players cannot reach an agreement in time.
If Wednesday choose to forfeit the game, they would be automatically handed a 3-0 loss.
This would put them in terrible stead as they aim to beat the odds and stay in the division next season.
To make matters worse, alongside Rohl, a number of the Owls’ star players have also departed from Hillsborough this summer.
Attacking midfielder Josh Windass has joined Wrexham, while Michael Smith left for Preston.
They’re also undergoing a transfer embargo, so are unable to bring in new players this summer.
The Owls’ owner Dejphon Chansiri is said to be trying to sell the Championship side.
