Premier League stars will 'play part', says union chief
08 April, 2020
The head of the union representing Premier League players says they have "decided to play their part" through the coronavirus pandemic as pressure mounts to find a collective pay deal.
England's top-flight stars have come under fire over their lack of action, which contrasts sharply with significant pay cuts taken by players at other leading European clubs such as Barcelona and Juventus.
The Premier League has urged players to simply accept wage cuts of 30 percent but ongoing talks have hit a obstacle, with the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) warning that Britain's National Health Service could suffer from the increased loss of tax receipts therefore of players taking pay cuts.
FIFA has urged players and clubs to attain agreement over wage reductions and players are reportedly set to get started on negotiations on a club-by-club basis.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock was among senior politicians calling for players to have a cut and "play their part", a call that sparked off angry reactions from players.
Poll backed a pay cut
A poll conducted by polling company YouGov last week found 92 percent of respondents said they backed a pay cut.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor told BBC radio on Tuesday that the players had "all decided to play their part", adding these were "responsible enough" to learn wages were one factor in virtually any club's expenditure.
"We've been consistent using what we've said right from the start and the truth is the players feel quite aggrieved that the Secretary of State for Health should put them in a corner without looking," he said.
"They're not self-employed, they make massive contributions to the Treasury and they've also quite logically felt that if indeed they don't get that money, if a third is deferred or a third is cut, then your Treasury is 200 million pound ($246 million) a year worse off and that might be going towards the National Health (Service) and will be needed."
Taylor, 75, is reportedly not taking a cut to his own 2 million pounds gross annual salary. "The PFA can make donations and the PFA is involved in the players' charity," Taylor told the Guardian when asked directly if he would accept a decrease in salary.
Spurs under pressure
Tottenham have come under pressure from fans to follow Liverpool in reversing their decision to use public money to pay employees.
Liverpool, the European champions and the world's seventh richest club, ditched their controversial plan to furlough a few of their non-playing staff through the coronavirus on Monday after coming under extreme pressure from former players and fans.
Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore wrote an open letter to supporters apologising for your choice.
The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust once again urged the club to check out suit and overturn your choice to furlough some non-playing staff.
A brief statement on Twitter read: "We've been saying constantly @SpursOfficial -- pause and rethink. We are now saying it evidently and in public areas -- usually do not further damage the Club's reputation, pay attention to your fans."
Newcastle, Norwich and Bournemouth will be the other Premier League clubs to announce plans to utilize the government's furlough scheme plus they were joined by Scottish club Rangers on Monday.
The Ibrox first-team squad along with manager Steven Gerrard, his coaching staff and the club's executives also have decided to accept wage deferrals for 90 days to make sure non-football staff receive their incomes in full.
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