'Change is coming' - Culture Secretary sends warning to Sheffield Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri
Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has warned Sheffield Wednesday owner, Dejphon Chansiri, that ‘change is coming’.
The Owls are currently in a state of chaos under Chansiri’s leadership, with the problems ranging from unpaid wages and an unusable North Stand to a threadbare squad with no chance of additions before their Leicester City opener at the weekend. Elsewhere, Morecambe are on the brink of being suspended from the National League as Jason Whittingham continues to cause problems for them.
Nandy, who was speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, says that owners of English clubs need to recognise the responsibility that they hold, and spoke of the Independent Football Regulator being able to force owners to sell in the future in ‘extreme cases’.
‘Change is coming’, says Culture Secretary
“My message to the owners at Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday is that the legislation has passed parliament, it is being enacted. Change is coming,” Nandy told the BBC. “But while we set up the football regulator, and we are working at pace to do so, they need to recognise that they have a responsibility to be the custodians of a club and hand it on in good shape to the next generation.
“And that’s why I wrote the open letter to Morecambe and have been working closely with local MPs in Sheffield and Morecambe to support fans and to bring about a resolution to what has become a crisis at both clubs.
“The legislation sets out a strengthened owners and directors test. In addition it allows the regulator to look retrospectively at whether somebody is fit and proper to own a club, and it does also allow the regulator in very extreme cases where the club would otherwise be lost, and Morecambe looks like one of these cases, it would allow the regulator to force the owners to sell rather than the club collapsing.”
'Do not give up'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) August 6, 2025
On #BBCBreakfast Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy had this message for supporters of Sheffield Wednesday and Morecambe - at the start of the new football seasonhttps://t.co/SK0NhoICev pic.twitter.com/iRPORwofOO
Nandy also went on to highlight the plight of Wigan Athletic, who she supports, as what can be possibly when a club is on the brink - urging fans to ‘not give up’.
"Wigan went right to the wire, we were within hours of HMRC pulling the plug because taxes haven't been paid, players were about to walk, the wages haven't been paid and at the final hour we managed to achieve a resolution. So I've absolutely said that to the fans groups and to the local MPs do not give up."
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