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Sheffield Wednesday file for administration / Photo: © AFP/File
Sheffield Wednesday file for administration
Struggling Championship club Sheffield Wednesday on Friday filed a notice to be placed into administration.
The club's financial issues under current owner Dejphon Chansiri have been well-documented, with reports that a winding-up order from British tax authorities was imminent.
A notice to appoint an administrator has been filed at the Insolvency and Companies court, which is a specialist court within the High Court.
Wednesday did not make any immediate comment but are expected to release a statement.
Under English Football League rules, the club would face a 12-point penalty for entering administration.
The former Premier League side are bottom of the second-tier Championship and such a points deduction would leave them 15 points adrift of safety.
Fans have held protests calling on Chansiri to sell throughout the season, including during Wednesday's 1-0 defeat against Middlesbrough at Hillsborough.
Supporters boycotted the game in their thousands in a bid to force Chansiri out.
Wednesday have been placed under various embargoes due to tax debts and after failing to pay players and staff on time on five separate occasions this year, including in September.
Even government ministers have joined calls for Chansiri to sell up.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told a committee of lawmakers last month: "I am really extremely concerned about the current ownership and the lack of willingness to sell the club and invest in the club, something I've been discussing very closely with local MPs.
"The government is keeping a very close eye on it and our message to those owners is that change is coming."
The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust described it as "one of the most bittersweet days in our club's proud 158-year history".
"Entering administration was the inevitable outcome of years of financial mismanagement, a lack of accountability and repeated failures to engage credible buyers," the Trust statement continued.
"Administration is not to be celebrated. It needn't have ended this way. But we are overjoyed to have Dejphon Chansiri out of our club for good."
Wednesday are due to host Oxford United on Saturday.
A. Walsh--BTZ
