Union leaders are battling to secure full salaries for Sheffield Wednesday’s non-football staff, as the conduct of club owner Dejphon Chansiri is condemned as “disgusting”.
Employees at the financially struggling Owls have experienced late payments on five separate occasions this year, including the most recent month.
Unite, the UK’s leading union, has mobilised against the Thai businessman, Mr Chansiri, who had indicated a willingness to sell the club over the summer but has yet to finalise a deal.
According to Unite, union membership at Hillsborough has “rocketed” amidst the crisis.
Workers reportedly received only a £1,000 payment instead of their full September wages, forcing some staff to take out loans to cover essential bills.
The payment delays have also affected players and coaches at the club.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said in a statement: “Unite will do everything in its power, industrially and legally, to ensure these workers get their wages.
“Dejphon Chansiri has millions at his disposal, these workers do not – his behaviour is disgusting.
“He needs to pay his staff and sell this well-loved club and community asset to a buyer who can run it properly as a matter of urgency.”
Wednesday have been placed under various embargoes amid tax debts and the ongoing salary issues.
The beleaguered Sky Bet Championship club sit second-bottom of the table with six points from nine games following Saturday’s 5-0 home defeat by Coventry, which was briefly halted by fans invading the pitch in protest against Chansiri.
Unite regional officer Daniel Gawthorpe said: “These workers have had enough. They are totally dedicated to the club but their loyalty is being taken advantage of.
“People are facing real financial hardship, but Chansiri seems to expect them to live on fresh air because of their love for Wednesday. Unite will not let this stand.”
A host of first-team players and coaches – including former manager Danny Rohl – departed Hillsborough in recent months, leaving the Owls with a threadbare squad and backroom staff under current boss Henrik Pedersen.
The South Yorkshire side already look to be facing a relegation battle and could be hit with a points deduction due to the financial problems.
Kogan, who was appointed on Monday, labelled Wednesday’s perilous situation a “significant problem” and said the regulator was seeking powers to investigate clubs in such predicaments.
“If your question is, ‘would we intervene in the final instance?’, the answer is once we gather the evidence and know what’s going on, we will,” Kogan told BBC Sport.
“It’s a last resort (forcing a sale) because the last thing we want to do is start getting involved with an individual club, an individual owner, without being able to work with that owner to try and resolve the issues that the club’s facing and the owner’s facing.
“But the truth is, when you look back over the history of football, over the last 20 or 30 years there have been some owners, not many, but some who have been irresponsible in the way which they’ve been managing their clubs and ultimately don’t wish to take responsibility for the future.”
Chansiri bought Wednesday in 2015. Having this week met four supporter groups, Kogan expressed sympathy with Owls fans.
“Clearly Sheffield Wednesday has been a significant problem for the EFL (English Football League) and a significant problem for football,” he said. “Sheffield Wednesday is one of the great brands of English football.
“We’re now looking to get powers, which will allow us to have Sheffield Wednesday – and other clubs – referred to us if they need to be investigated and acted upon.”
The PA news agency has contacted Sheffield Wednesday for comment.
