Sheffield Wednesday protest hailed as ‘huge moment’ after yellow scenes at Hillsborough

Thousands of Wednesdayites held aloft their bits of yellow before kick off on Friday night ahead of the Owls’ 2-0 win over Birmingham City, and while some were thrown into bins and others ended up in bags held by security at the turnstiles, the scenes that preceded kickoff were there for all to see as the game was beamed onto Sky.

What happens next remains to be seen, but in interviews over the weekend (as seen in the video above) some of those handing out the flyers said that some previous detractors are now ‘on board’ with what they are trying to achieve.

In a statement sent to The Star, the Group said, “Firstly we’d like to thank all who participated in holding up the flyers, particularly those who helped distribute… It was quite a task logistically to ensure we had distribution in the right areas, with the right amount of flyers. Given that this was our first attempt, we’re quite pleased with how that side of things went.

“Whilst handing out the flyers, we had incredibly large positive support in the main. Each volunteer reported the odd rumbling of discontent but in general people were respectful, whether they agreed or not. This was a concern of ours, so we would like to thank everyone for keeping debate peaceful.

“In terms of the visual result, the pictures tell the story. There is clearly a huge amount of discontent toward the chairman’s stewardship of the club. Of those not holding up leaflets, we’d suggest many don’t necessarily support the chairman, more don’t think protest is the best way forward.

“One thing this protest certainly should put to bed, is the notion that protest of this sort will have a detrimental impact on the team. The 3 organised protests this season have been on the days of games from which Wednesday have taken 7 points.

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“You can certainly love the club and not necessarily agree with the owner. Support the team but not the regime. This football club holds a special place in our hearts. We cannot sit back and watch it decay in the way it is doing under this owner.

“That is why we are making a stance, Sheffield Wednesday is better than the recent version of the club we are being served up, away from the pitch. Fans deserve fair, comparable ticketing structures, they deserve adequate investment to compete. They certainly don’t deserve the day-to-day PR circus the club has become. A club which makes so many mistakes, it is draining… Fans deserve transparency and respect, the opposite of what they receive from the owner.

“What is The 1867 Group? It’s simply there to give likeminded supporters a platform to show their discontent towards Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of the club. Last night wasn’t about the group, it was about thousands of like-minded people who want the chairman to stick to his word. He stated if the fans wanted him to leave, he would. Mr. Chansiri – the fans have spoken.”