Owls situation 'like a Greek tragedy'

Can a new independent football regulator force the sale of a struggling club? That's what some Sheffield Wednesday fans are hoping.

The club have failed to pay wages on time for a third successive month and have been hit with several sanctions from the EFL.

The Today Programme spoke to former Home Secretary David Blunkett about the Owls' situation.

"For me it's like a Greek tragedy. I'm sad rather than angry. Going into administration would be a disaster," he said.

"I hope a sale is engineered before the regulator comes in. If they are in administration and the club is still under the existing ownership then the regulator will have to intervene."

As for the detail over how the regulator will work, Blunkett said it would only intervene if a club's survival is directly at risk rather than being used as a way of removing owners that might happen to be unpopular with a club's fanbase.

"It won't be able to interfere if a club is being run properly so this isn't about whether we are in favour of a particular person owning or running a club, this is about whether a club can survive at all," he added.

"If you're not paying wages and the club is on the edge of going into administration, that's what the regulator is all about."

You can listen to the Today Programme's segment on Sheffield Wednesday here.