Sheffield Wednesday fans boycott EFL Cup match against Leeds in ownership protest

Thousands of Sheffield Wednesday fans stayed away from Hillsborough for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup second-round tie with Leeds United as protests against the club’s ownership continued.

Owls supporters have been showing their discontent against owner Dejphon Chansiri since the start of the season.

The club have failed to pay wages on time for a third successive month and have been hit with several sanctions from the EFL.

In their opening Championship game against Leicester, a banner declaring ‘Enough is Enough’ was displayed, while two weeks ago fans held a mock funeral procession with a coffin that they said symbolised “the death of the football club”.

The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust urged fans on their website, external to boycott the match and instead donate the ticket money to Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity.

“I cannot imagine many Sheffield Wednesday against Leeds games which have ever been played in a Hillsborough stadium like this,” BBC Radio 5 live commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball, covering the game at Hillsborough, said.

“The protest being made this evening was by not coming to this game.

“I’m pretty sure the Leeds fans, about 3,000 of them, may well outnumber the home support.

“The North stand is closed tonight, as is the East stand. The only place you will find the home fans is in the lower tier of the south stand.”