The boardroom boycott is a show of sympathy for Cardiff owner Vincent Tan, who Press Association Sport understands remains upset over the Football Association's handling of racism investigations into Wigan owner Whelan and former Bluebirds boss Mackay.
Club sources have said Tan did not order directors to miss the Wigan game but board members wanted to show their support for the Malaysian businessman in the wake of comments made by Whelan and the ongoing FA investigation regarding Mackay, who is set to come up against his former club for the first time at the DW Stadium
Wigan owner Dave Whelan was fined £50,000 by the FA in December for making controversial comments about Jewish and Chinese people and given a six-week ban from all football-related activity.
Tan had earlier responded to those comments by accusing "a racist chairman of hiring a racist manager" - but an FA disciplinary commission said it was "satisfied" the 78-year-old Whelan "is not a racist" and did not intend to cause offence.
Whelan's comments were made when he defended the appointment of Mackay as the new Wigan manager in November.
Mackay is currently under investigation by the FA over allegations he sent "sexist, racist and homophobic" text messages during his time in charge of Cardiff and Press Association Sport understands the Welsh club have been dismayed that the situation has yet to be resolved after six months.
The Scot admitted sending offensive messages and apologised but insisted he is not racist, sexist, homophobic or anti-Semitic
Mackay led Cardiff into the top flight for the first time in 52 years in the 2012-13 campaign but was sacked by the Bluebirds the following December
Tan said he had no sympathy for his former manager over the timing of a club dossier handed to the FA which was said to have cost the Scot the chance of taking over at Crystal Palace in August.
"I had no sympathy for him after what he had done
He is the man responsible for us being relegated," Tan said in September
Mackay insisted before Cardiff's league visit to Wigan that he had nothing to prove to his former employers.
"It's never about proving a point," said Mackay, who has won only two of his 16 games in charge at Wigan who are entrenched in the Championship relegation zone and nine points from safety.
"You make friends and you have special moments at every club you're at..
and they are the things that you hold onto.
"I have very, very good memories of my time at Cardiff - the fans are sensational and the football team and staff in general all came together and we managed to do something that hadn't been done for 50 years.
"I had great times down there
It's absolutely a large part of my life."
Source : PA
Source: PA