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Henrik Pedersen praises Barry Bannan for speaking out as Sheffield Wednesday face third EFL embargo

Henrik Pedersen praises Barry Bannan for speaking out as Sheffield Wednesday face a third EFL embargo amid the ongoing club crisis.

Barry Bannan appeared on talkSPORT this week, and touched on financial uncertainty, with players and staff anxious over irregular pay, especially as payday approaches, impacting staff who rely on timely wages for bills and mortgages more than players.

Despite off-field issues, Bannon stressed the need to focus on playing and winning, as demonstrated by a recent victory, to keep the team’s morale high.

Dejphon Chansiri, the owner, based in Thailand, is largely absent, with no clear intermediary to address player and staff concerns, complicating communication.

Despite the club’s issues, fans remain passionate, with strong away support but protests at home games remain due to the ongoing problems.

The situation affects not just players but also club staff, who face financial strain, prompting involvement from the EFL and potentially the government, with the PFA in the background. Have a watch and listen in the video below…

When asked if he has been in contact with Chansiri recently regarding the issues at the club, Bannan said: “I have been through this summer and through preseason asking questions, questions, questions, but it’s got to the point now where really I’ve had to stop asking because I’m not getting anywhere.

“I’m just concentrating on the football and trying to keep the lads together and happy, and the manager is obviously doing a great job.

“I remember speaking to one of my mates yesterday, and I was saying ‘you should never be getting to pay day at a Championship club and wondering if you’re gonna get paid or not’.

“It’s mental.

“Obviously some of the lads are fine in the changing room. And it’s not so much the players, for us – it’s the staff. The players can survive, they can get by with missing a few payments here and there, but it’s the staff who rely on that money to pay mortgages and bills, clothes for their kids, and school.

“So it’s not really us, it’s the staff that we have to go in and face every day who’ve been here for years and years. To see them suffering and panicking really affects us.”

Henrik Pedersen said to BBC Sport: “No, I have no problem with Barry. No, I think if we should hide what we are doing, why should we hide something?

“I think it’s very important that people understand the process we are in, the daily life we have, because it’s a difficult situation and it’s how this player squad have handled this situation.

“It has been difficult, but how they have done it together and nobody can do this alone. It’s togetherness and how they speak with each other about it and there will be frustration, there will be anger, there will be a lot of emotion that is involved every day.

“But how they accept this, maybe a wrong word, but how they still change the perspective.

“Okay, we cannot do something right now, but what we can do, we can go out and we can make a top training session or today again we can go out and make a top game.

“And here it has been fantastic and the same for the staff and the coaches.”

The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust said: “Our captain has today laid bare the harsh reality at Sheffield Wednesday”, a statement from the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust read on Thursday.

“He has spoken of staff struggling under the weight of uncertainty and admitted that even he can no longer reach the owner.

“Barry Bannan’s unbelievable loyalty to Sheffield Wednesday and its supporters has never been in doubt.

“For him to now feel forced to speak so candidly shows just how deep this crisis runs. This is not normal. This is not sustainable.

“The boycott and wider actions continue because our club is being failed from the very top. We stand firmly with the players, the staff, and our captain.

“They are left to carry the burden while the Chairman hides from view. Change must come. The future of Sheffield Wednesday depends on it.”

Here’s how fans reacted as Henrik Pedersen praises Barry Bannan for speaking out as Sheffield Wednesday face a third EFL embargo…

@Jordrl66: I find it very interesting the timing of Barry doing these interviews this week

@ashmore_matt: As much as the sporadic questioning was annoying bannan spoke well as per usual, good to see him not defending the owner in any capacity.

@griffiths_tom41: Chansiri has lost the fans, the staff, the players, but he does not understand that his position is beyond untenable. What is going on @thaiuniongroup?

@louiseflynn49: #BarryBannan what a great guy he is, Awful that the owners are allowed to do this 😡 to a great club

@mallett_kieran: It’s a shame this hasn’t happened earlier but so so glad he has come out and started speaking to the media about it. Also showing his frustrations too. Then Pedersen backs him up in presser. Lets keep this pressure on. It’s all coming to a head now 🤞💪 #swfc

@ashkitson1867: Chansiri has lost the fans, the back room staff, the players and even his captain. What is the real reason he’s staying? He has no interest for the club I even believe now he despises the club. So why not cut his losses? Take a decent offer and go #swfc

@OwlsOnThePitch: Two interviews in a week from Bannan. It’s no secret what message he’s trying to get across… Time to step up the protests. 04/10/25 #SWFC

@GazRobinson1: Now that’s a fucking captain! Speaking for the ones with no voice, the cleaners, the chefs, the office staff. @bazzabannan25 statue incoming my man… might have to be when Deji fucks off tho because he might try weighing it in for scrap money 🤣🤣🤣🫡🫡🫡 #swfc

@raspers26: Barry is doing us all proud and telling everyone how it is now, it seems like he is letting BG everyone know #EnoughIsEnough, all the while that coward of an owner hides away

@GrantR_1867: Since Dejphon Chansiri bought #SWFC in Jan 2015, he has failed to pay wages on time for the following months.
November 2019
October 2020
November 2020
December 2020
March 2021
April 2021
May 2021
June 202
March 2025
May 2025
June 2025
July 2025
September 2025
#EnoughIsEnough

@OwlSheffield: Well done @bazzabannan25 👍👍 needs more #swfc players coming out and talking to media, #chansiriout I’m sure staff appreciate him BB speaking up for them @swfc

@andymcelwaine: He’s saying the right things. If only the chairman knew he’d do this before giving him a new contract. Absolute legend.

@tommyuto: Good on Baz, definitely wasn’t backing Chansiri loads before but can still see that tone change for sure. Can imagine September’s wages won’t be on time now.

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