Championship match suspended as furious fans storm pitch after just 10 minutes

Sheffield Wednesday's game against Coventry City was suspended after just 10 minutes when a handful of angry fans invaded the pitch at Hillsborough. Tensions have been rising over the last few months with supporters growing increasingly unhappy with Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri. Their players have not been paid on time for five of the last seven months due to the club's ongoing financial issues.

Pay day for September was also missed, which is likely to result in further sanctions from the EFL. They have already hit the Championship club with multiple embargoes in the last seven months. Angry fans have continued to make their feelings known and some supporters took things to another level against Coventry by storming the pitch.

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After the opening 10 minutes, a small number of home fans invaded the playing surface and made a beeline for the centre circle. It forced the referee to suspend the match with play impossible under the circumstances.

The game was able to resume after a delay of around five minutes, with Coventry leading by a single goal thanks to Brandon Thomas-Asante's early opener.

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Before kick-off at Hillsborough, there had been murmurs on social media that a protest was on the cards. Coventry boss Frank Lampard expressed his sympathy with Owls supporters in the build-up to the fixture.

He said: "The first thing I’d say is I’ve got a lot of sympathy with Sheffield Wednesday fans because I grew up when Sheffield Wednesday was always a big football club, and it still is.

"I understand their emotions, even though I’m not completely in touch with the story. I get it, but I have to think about Coventry City and my players, and the things I’m hearing about people might come on the pitch, we haven’t had massive clarity on.

"There are some conversations this morning on our players’ security, their players’ security and what may happen because we’re going there and, as I say, my first concern is us."

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Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen added: "We have not spoken about it but I have heard about it.

"Of course we all understand the frustration and that there is a protest but we also really hope that it can be without risk and with safety for the fans."

There have also been fears that Owls players could take action by refusing to train and fulfil matches, but Pederson confirmed earlier this week that it was yet to reach that point.

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