Sheffield Wednesday players refused to play a pre-season friendly against Burnley, with Barry Bannan stating that the squad had reached a breaking point over unpaid wages.
The Owls were due to face Burnley in a behind-closed-doors fixture on Saturday, but ongoing financial turmoil at Hillsborough led to the players withdrawing in protest.
Bannan: “Enough Is Enough”
The scheduled friendly, which was to be held early Saturday morning at Burnley’s Gawthorpe training base, was cancelled at the last minute when the Wednesday players opted not to travel. The decision followed a fourth instance in five months where wages went unpaid, prompting what was effectively a players’ strike.
To accommodate the unique schedule, Burnley had offered to cover hotel costs for the Wednesday squad. Manager Scott Parker had planned to split his squad across two matches that day, with a separate team later facing Stoke City in a public fixture.
Instead, Burnley were forced to stage an internal training match.
Club captain Barry Bannan explained the reasoning behind the boycott during an interview with talkSPORT:
“We pulled out of the Burnley game at the weekend, and that was simply because it’s happened too much now, and it’s a lot easier to pull out of a pre-season game than a Championship fixture. We’ve come in to training and just got on with it, and made it look to the outside world that we’re fine and getting on with it, so this was a choice to say ‘enough is enough’, really.”
Professionalism Amid Chaos
Bannan praised the attitude of his teammates under the circumstances, but admitted that the situation is unprecedented for the players:
“The lads have been brilliant since we came back. I can’t complain. I thought it’d be hard to come back and keep the group going, but they’ve been ultimate professionals and come in and work hard every day. There are loads of excuses to pull out, but they’ve been amazing.”
“It’s hard, because we don’t know what to do. This never happens, it’s never happened to us, so we don’t know what the rules are or what we can do as a group of players.”
Wednesday’s financial difficulties have been well documented, with widespread criticism of owner Dejphon Chansiri’s leadership and growing calls for a change in direction. The boycott sends a clear message from within the dressing room that the current situation is unsustainable.
Writer’s View
Sheffield Wednesday’s players deserve enormous credit for taking a stand. This was a calculated and symbolic move designed to highlight the unacceptable circumstances they have been operating under for months. That it was led by Barry Bannan, who could easily have walked away from the chaos, gives it even more weight.
Pre-season is about preparation, but no squad can prepare properly when their contracts are being repeatedly undermined. The question now is whether those at the top of the club will finally listen.
