Sheffield Wednesday fans to fly plane over season opener at Leicester as protests ramp up

Sheffield Wednesday fans are planning to fly a plane over their season opener at Leicester with a clear message for owner Dejphon Chansiri.

The beleaguered Owls kick off their Championship campaign in a complete mess after a series of missed wage payments to players and staff from their hapless Thai chairman.

Fans are at the end of their tether and the club's Supporters' Trust has raised over £13,000 to fund protests against Chansiri's ownership - starting with their first game of the season against the Foxes on Sunday.

Wednesday have sold out their allocation of 3,300 tickets despite their malaise. Travelling fans have already pledged not to take their seats for the first five minutes of the fixture in a show of defiance live on Sky Sports.

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A plane trailing a message for Chansiri is expected to begin to fly over the King Power Stadium shortly before kick-off and remain in the air for around 15 minutes.

It is understood Sky Sports are aware of the plans and are committed to profiling Wednesday's plight. While supporters remain in the concourse and outside the ground for the opening minutes of the match, a huge banner will be draped over the seats, also containing a message for Chansiri.

The Supporters' Trust has pledged to continue to protest until Chansiri is removed from his post, with big plans for the first home game of the season against Stoke a week on Saturday.

It comes amid a backdrop of chaos at Hillsborough with just 16 senior players contracted to the club, although numerous of those are understood to have submitted their notices after multiple instances of late and non-payment of wages.

Djeidi Gassama, Anthony Musaba and academy product Caelan-Kole Cadamarteri, son of ex-Everton favourite Danny, were all sold in a bid to raise funds, but the issues have persisted.

Last month, Josh Windass and Michael Smith both exercised their right to walk away for free despite having contract extensions triggered by Wednesday.

The North Stand at Hillsborough has been condemned by health and safety chiefs, with season ticket holders in that area of the ground yet to be notified where they will be relocated for the first home fixture of the campaign.

Owls players cancelled their friendly at Burnley last week and have intimated they would be willing to do so again if payment obligations are not met, although it is understood Sunday's match at Leicester is currently set to go ahead as planned.

Wednesday remain under embargo for defaulted transfer fee payments to other clubs and are unable to spend any money for the next three windows.

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