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By TARA ANSON-WALSH, WOMEN'S FOOTBALL REPORTER Published: 22: 53 AEST, 4 October 2025 | Updated: 23: 17 AEST, 4 October 2025 9 View comments Sheffield Wednesday's home defeat against Coventry City was brought to a halt just 10 minutes in as fans invaded the Hillsborough pitch to protest against the club's disastrous stewardship under owner Dejphon Chansiri. The beleaguered club are staring down the barrel of a points deduction after failing to pay their players' wages on time yet again, and could be docked as many as 15 points after suffering the same issue five times in the last seven months. Daily Mail Sport reported on Thursday that former Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor has held talks with Wednesday chairman Chansiri, but discussions over a sale of the club to the US businessman have not progressed. Wednesday supporters have made their feelings clear, with the majority of home fans boycotting purchases from the club inside the stadium, while attendances were near empty for their two home Carabao Cup fixtures. Saturday saw a fresh protest when, 10 minutes into the Championship clash with Coventry, a small number of fans ran onto the pitch, forcing referee Adam Herczeg to temporarily suspend play. After around five minutes the game resumed, with the Sky Blues already having taken the lead in the third minute thanks to Brandon Thomas-Asante's early opener. But it soon got much worse for the Owls as Thomas-Asante added a second before Haji Wright made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time. Ellis Simms and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto both netted after the break to inflict a 5-0 humiliation. Saturday saw a fresh protest when, 10 minutes into the game against Coventry, a small number of fans ran onto the pitch, forcing referee Adam Herczeg to temporarily suspend play Coventry boss Frank Lampard expressed his sympathy with Owls supporters before the fixture Textor, who recently sold his stake in Palace in an ultimately fruitless attempt to prevent the Eagles' demotion from the Europa League to the Conference League, has previously expressed an interest in the Championship strugglers. It is thought that Chansiri is seeking around £100m for Wednesday, although there is a view he may accept £70m for a club he bought for around £30m in 2015. Coventry boss Frank Lampard expressed his sympathy with Owls supporters in the build-up to the fixture, saying: 'I’ve got a lot of sympathy with Sheffield Wednesday fans because I grew up when Sheffield Wednesday was always a big football club, and it still is. 'I understand their emotions, even though I’m not completely in touch with the story. I get it, but I have to think about Coventry City and my players, and the things I’m hearing about people might come on the pitch, we haven’t had massive clarity on. 'There are some conversations this morning on our players’ security, their players' security and what may happen because we’re going there and, as I say, my first concern is us. ' There have also been fears that Owls players could take action by refusing to train or fulfil matches, but boss Henrik Pederson confirmed earlier this week that it has not yet reached that point.
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