Should players take pay cuts? Premier League players urged to take pay cut as furloughing criticised
Footballers have been urged to take pay cuts and teams criticised as being in a "moral vacuum" as the PFA, Premier League and EFL continue meetings to decide on what to do about player wages and how to finish the season.
Tottenham have been ciritcised for furloughing non-playing staff, something Norwich and Newcastle are also doing before any plans for players to have their wages cut have been released.
Talks between the players' and managers' associations and the leagues will continue over the coming days, when the subject of player wages cuts will be discussed.
A joint statement from the Premier League, EFL, LMA and PFA read: "Senior representatives from the PFA, Premier League, EFL and LMA met today and shared a constructive meeting regarding the challenges facing the game as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The meeting reiterated that the overriding priority is the health and well-being of the nation - including that of players, coaches, managers, club staff and supporters - and everyone agreed football must only return when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
"No decisions were taken today with discussions set to continue in the next 48 hours with a focus on several high-profile matters, including player wages and the resumption of the 2019/20 season."
However, the fact much lower paid non-playing staff seem to be sacrificed before the players has come under fire.
Julian Knight MP, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said: "It sticks in the throat. This exposes the crazy economics in English football and the moral vacuum at its centre."
A YouGov poll found 92 per cent of respondents felt Premier League players should take a wage cut to reflect the loss of revenue created by the Covid-19 outbreak, with more than two-thirds saying the cut should be at least 50 per cent.
Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, along with other senior non-playing staff at the south coast club, have agreed to take a significant and voluntary pay cut for the duration of the crisis. A number of Cherries staff have also been furloughed under the Government's job retention scheme set up to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the British economy.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor suggested on Tuesday that a task force could be established to assess wage deferral requests on a case-by-case basis, as he highlighted that even within divisions there was great disparity between clubs.
"It's about trying to avoid clubs doing their own thing without any particular structure or guidance so that you end up with players at one club envious of players at another," he said.
BBC Sport is reporting that a letter sent out by the PFA has reinfocred this view by urging players not to take pay cuts before talking to their union first.
The letter reportedly says: "The PFA requested to see each club's financial situation before we offer advice to players on whether to accept the terms offered.
"Before accepting or signing any paperwork from your club, it is vitally important that squads collectively discuss proposals with the PFA."
Follow Sporting Life on social - find us on Facebook here or tweet @SportingLifeFC
Related football content
- The Verdict: Should Kane leave Spurs?
- Predicting the Premier League table
- How Klopp got to the top
- Kuntz remembers Euro 96
- Analysis: Salah's scoring exploits
- Jack's the lad for United
- The Championship's Team of the Season (so far)
- Message from the editor
- Laura Woods: Unprecedented times
- Who is the PL's best goalkeeper?
- Sky Bet EFL: Great Games
- The best sporting documentaries
- Paper Talk - latest transfer gossip