Wednesday owner Dejphon Chansiri said this afternoon that all club players and staff have now been paid, along with the outstanding bill owed to HMRC.
Mr Chansiri recently said cashflow issues meant the club had failed to pay HMRC the required monies, meaning that we would then face a player registration embargo by the EFL if it wasn’t quickly settled, while also revealing that those employed by Wednesday may not get paid in time, or in full.
Then, in an interview with the Sheffield Star late on Monday evening, he appealed for 20,000 fans to each pay £100 to meet the required amount of £2m, adding that they would be refunded their monies – with interest – once the cashflow issues were resolved.
However, this afternoon Mr Chansiri gave the following statement on the club website:
‘Further to my interview in the media earlier this week, I would like to take this opportunity to expand on some of the detail and also provide an update to the situation.
I can confirm that all our players and staff have been paid their salaries in full. I can also confirm that the outstanding HMRC amount has been satisfied and the EFL embargo will be lifted.
Regarding my interview, I agreed to do this because I was asked and I wish to be as transparent as possible. I was asked questions and provided the answers at that time.
The business world moves very quickly, which I stressed. I received funds due to me which allowed me to transfer funds to the club. Money owed to me was late and this had the potential to impact on the club.
I explained there is a big difference between cashflow and cash in the bank. Money is moved around in business on a daily basis and the current financial climate is impacting on cashflow for businesses all around the world. Thankfully, as far as we are concerned, the issue is now resolved.
Which brings me to the situation of fans donating money to save your club. When I was asked what would happen if money owed to me was not paid in time, I said if 20,000 fans paid £100 each it would resolve the issue. I was making the situation totally clear if I did not have the available funds but ultimately it did not come to that.
In business, what happens today can be very different tomorrow and right now this is finished.
As I said in the interview, there are no ‘games’ here, this was a serious situation. I understand that some things are hard to hear, and believe me, some things are hard to say.
The bottom line is that Sheffield Wednesday means everything to me and I will always try my best and do my best for our club, today and tomorrow.’