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Credit: Sheffield Wednesday FC
Chris Smith
Sun 10 August 2025 20:20, UK
Leicester City supporters have been praised for their classy gesture toward Sheffield Wednesday fans during the meeting between the two sides on Sunday.
Despite going in 1-0 down at half-time, the Foxes won their Championship opener 2-1 thanks to second-half goals from defenders Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes.
However, matters on the pitch largely played second fiddle, with most of the focus surrounding the disastrous goings on behind the scenes at Sheffield Wednesday.
Supporters have been furious with owner Dejphon Chansiri’s running — or rather, lack of — of the club, with delayed wage payments leading to an exodus of key players such as Josh Windass and Michael Smith, as well as manager Danny Rohl.
This article contains exclusive comments from ex-PGMOL chief, FIFA official and former professional referee Keith Hackett.
Sheffield Wednesday fans made their feelings known once again on Sunday, arriving five minutes late for the match in protest against Chansiri.
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It meant that the away was largely empty for the opening stages of the match, as Henrik Pedersen’s side — boasting just 15 senior players — made a bright start.
Wednesday’s fans eventually poured into the stands, and what followed was a heart-warming gesture of solidarity, with Leicester City supporters giving their rivals a standing ovation.
Owls supporters didn’t let it go unnoticed, applauding back to their hosts.
It was a gesture that certainly caught the eye of former referee and ex-PGMOL chief Keith Hackett, who praised the ‘class’ of the Foxes.
“Great reception by the Leicester City fans applauding the planned late entry of Sheffield Wednesday fans into the Stadium.
A touch of class,” he exclusively told Football Insider.
A red card in the 76th minute for captain Barry Bannan proved to be the tipping point for Wednesday, with Leicester finally taking the lead just 11 minutes later.
However, manager Pedersen, who has an unenviable task after being thrust into the role following the departure of Rohl, couldn’t hold back the pride he felt in his players for a brave performance under the circumstances.
“To play the first game away with the situation from the last weeks, and then to bring a performance like this, I am really proud of the boys,” he said (BBC).
“It’s a tough, tough place to play and after Barry’s second yellow card it was difficult.
“To be a really good team in the Championship, you need to be good in difficult phases and to keep up your discipline when things are difficult, and today the boys showed that in the best way.
This basic culture was really, really good.
“One thing is to work, the other thing is to work with a strategy, and how they played the tactical game plan today was really good.
This intensity, together with this discipline, big respect to the boys.”
Leicester are among the favourites to earn promotion back to the Premier League this season, so Pedersen should rightly be proud of his players.
However, it’s going to be a long road ahead amid continued uncertainty — especially in the wake of Chansiri being blasted by former Everton and Aston Villa chief Keith Wyness for demanding a whopping £100million to take Wednesday off his hands.
Up next for the Owls is a trip to Bolton Wanderers in the EFL Cup, before they play in front of a reduced-capacity Hillsborough — due to safety concerns — for the first time against Stoke next weekend.
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