Dejphon Chansiri's Sheffield Wednesday successor will not face regulator's 'fit and proper person' test
Sheffield Wednesday’s prospective new owners will be able to buy the club without going through the Independent Regulator's new beefed-up owners and directors test – but could be subjected to it later if concerns are raised.
Navigating the Football League's previous test will probably mean a quicker process for whoever takes over from Dejphon Chansiri.
The Owls administrators have received around six or seven bids for the Championship club and are currently deciding which to put forward as their preferred candidate.
They had originally set themselves a December 5 "soft deadline" to make their choice but due to the number of candidates and a short delay to the deadline for receiving them, this is now expected to be put back around a week.
Meanwhile, the Regulator's new test, which will replace the Football League's, is due to come online on December 12, but only for incumbent owners. It will be May before new candidates are scrutinised that way.
The Regulator will have more powers, although after consultation some minor changes have been made around the handling of the data it looks into.
“We will be able to gather information, investigate and demand action — including, in the most serious cases, the removal of an unsuitable owner,” explained chief executive Richard Monks.
“As a Government, we worked tirelessly in the face of opposition to pass the Football Governance Act and have kicked on since to bring the Regulator’s powers online as quickly as possible and deliver on our promise to fans,” said sports minister Stephanie Peacock
“Our message has been clear throughout: that owners and directors are, first and foremost, custodians of their clubs – and they must act with the best interests of those clubs at heart.
"The Regulator now has the power to hold those who do not to account, giving fans confidence that the institutions so central to their communities and their lives will be protected long into the future.”
Chansiri, who passed the Football League's test 10 years ago, lost control of Wednesday in October after putting the club into administration, otherwise he would certainly have been the first owner put under the microscope by the regulator.
The regulator will have the ability to re-examine the credentials of owners and directors when concerns are raised, and it is working towards a licencing regime whereby clubs will have to meet certain criteria regards matters including governance and financial management to play in any of England's top five divisions.