Garry Monk calls on Sheffield Wednesday to unite as EFL hits back with new claim over Hillsborough sale

The Owls are set for a lengthy legal battle with the English Football League after being charged with misconduct over the sale of Hillsborough.

Wednesday claim the EFL charges are “unlawful” and the league agreed to the stadium sale, including placing the cash in their 2017-18 accounts to avoid breaking profitability and sustainability rules.

The EFL, meanwhile, insist they have new evidence “to justify multiple charges of misconduct”.

If found guilty, the Owls could be punished with a points deduction, anything between 12 and 21 points.

Chansiri has ploughed millions into Wednesday in their pursuit of Premier League football, since buying the club from Milan Mandaric for £37.5m in 2015.

And Monk – whose side host Brentford at Hillsborough tomorrow – has issued a rallying call, asking all supporters to stand behind Thai businessman Chansiri.

“We stick together,” insisted Monk. “We show we trust in the club and the chairman.

“He has invested a lot of time and money into this club.

“I have had good discussions with him and he wants this club to be successful. No one can deny what he has done here in terms of investing in the team and the club.

“We have to stick together and support him and the club.

“It’s a case of you trust and believe in the club, the chairman and everyone involved in that side of it.

“You trust in what they say and what they do.

“Obviously, the club has made a statement and I think it is clear to see that the club feels it has done everything right and we have no reason not to believe that.

“We support that and we are here to fight for this club and do our part of it, which is the football side of it. We are here fully supporting each other.”

The Owls and EFL have both drawn battle lines this week over the sale of Hillsborough.

On Wednesday, the Owls issued a statement, which read: “The club maintains that it consulted with the relevant executive officers of the EFL in connection with the stadium transaction and that it acted in good faith.

“The club has in its possession numerous emails, letters and other documents in which the EFL gave authorisation to the transaction, and on which authorisation the club understood it could rely.

“That authorisation gave rise in law to a legitimate expectation that the transaction would be accepted by the EFL, which is binding on the EFL.

“The EFL is acting in breach of that binding legitimate expectation by retrospectively treating as misconduct that which it had itself previously authorised, and this makes the charges themselves unlawful.”

But the EFL responded to that statement, claiming they had sufficient evidence to charge the Owls with misconduct, and take the matter to an independent disciplinary commission.

An EFL spokesman said: “Following the review of a large number of documents provided by the club – some of those seen for the first time – evidence came to light to justify multiple charges of misconduct.”

With Chansiri expected back in England next weekend, the Owls are braced for a prolonged legal battle.

All Monk, and his players, can focus on is garnering points, even if they may subsequently lose them via a League punishment.

Monk said: “I think you saw from the club statement how strongly we feel as a club that the situation is fine for us. We are able to go about what we need to do. It was a statement you have full belief in.”