Sheffield Wednesday players issue ‘worrying’ statement as pay delays cause ‘concern’

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Sheffield Wednesday players have issued a joint statement as they put their feelings on the club’s situation in words.

The Owls kick off their 2025/26 Championship season away at Leicester City, which will see Sheffield Wednesday take to the field in public view for the first time since the turbulent summer.

Sheffield Wednesday’s first team were not put through their paces in a public pre-season friendly before this season, leaving many supporters apprehensive over the preparation they have received amid all of the off-field chaos.

The season opener away at Leicester City is set to see the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust conduct a protest against owner Dejphon Chansiri, who has presided over a litany of issues in S6 in the past few months.

As the first-team players continue to face concerns, with there being plenty of uncertainty regarding their pay situation, they have released a joint statement about the club’s situation and the difficult position they find themselves in.

• READ MORE: How Sheffield Wednesday can realistically line up vs Leicester City as only 16 first-team players remain

Sheffield Wednesday players release joint statement

With the Championship opener at the King Power Stadium less than a week away, Sheffield Wednesday players have sent a joint statement, via The Star, addressing their issues around the club.

The players address the impact surrounding the uncertainty of their futures, their pay, and how it has been a ‘worrying time’ for both themselves and the staff, whilst also noting the Burnley friendly which was boycotted.

“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,” said the players in their letter.

“This has been a worrying time for us as players but, whilst 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. The Players.”

• READ MORE: Selfless Sheffield Wednesday fans raise five-figure sum as fight against Chansiri ramps up

Lack of club communication has put players in an impossible position

Sheffield Wednesday’s club situation is incredibly bleak at the moment, and much of that is made worse by the complete radio silence from S6.

For the players to stand up and also go outside of the club’s communication channels to make their voices heard just shows the dire state that Dejphon Chansiri has left the club in, whilst he has not shown an ounce of responsibility for leaving many members of staff in the dark regarding their pay and future.

Whatever the Sheffield Wednesday players do from this point, they will no doubt have the full support of the fanbase, especially at such a testing time for the football club.