How Hillsborough looked as thousands of Sheffield Wednesday fans stepped up protest and stayed away

Sheffield Wednesday fans stepped up their protest against owner Dejphon Chansiri for the match against Middlesbrough on Wednesday night, with thousands electing to boycott the match.

This was the first time that the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust had called on all supporters, including those with season tickets who, of course, had already paid for their seat in the stadium, to boycott the match.

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Previous protests had been around calling on those who don’t have season tickets not to attend and on those who had attended matches not to spend any money inside the ground.

No official attendance was given but it is felt that this is the smallest attendance at Hillsborough for a league match for decades.

There was an eeriness around the ground. Normally concourses and streets around Hillsborough are buzzing in the hours leading up to matches but there was little traffic on Penistone Road which runs alongside the ground and no large groups of supporters making their way as is usually the case. Hardly any fans could be seen in or around the stadium in the build up, with those who did decide to attend seemingly arriving as close to kick off as possible.

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Kiosks selling refreshments were largely empty and inside just a few supporters congregated in concourses.

Outside the ground, before the match, the SWFC Supporters Trust projected messages onto the side of Hillsborough, calling for Dejphon Chansiri to sell up.

Last week it was reported in The Star, among other outlets, that HMRC have threatened a winding-up order on the club over an outstanding £1m debt. The re-negotiation or repayment of a £7.4m loan on Hillsborough stadium is still not confirmed on Companies House and the club’s list of other significant creditors include the EFL and it’s understood that a further six-figure sum is now owed to HMRC in relation to monies owed on PAYE.