Wages suspended Payments to return once play resumes

UNTIL such time that the coronavirus outbreak is contained and Airtricity League First Division activity resumes, Bray Wanderers will be suspending payment to their players and management, club chairman Niall O’Driscoll has confirmed.

O’Driscoll said that the club have budgeted for the break in action until March 29 to combat the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland, and that the club has communicated their decision to stop wages until football recommences, in order to secure the club’s financial viability.

Last week, in accordance with Department of Health and UEFA directives, the Football Association of Ireland called a halt to all football under its jurisdiction until March 29, including all Airtricity League Premier Division and First Division fixtures.

Following on from this, on Monday, Drogheda United announced that the club would be suspending payments to all first team and coaching staff.

Bray Wanderers have now followed in Drogheda’s footsteps, while O’Driscoll assured that payment would be resumed as soon as activity was.

‘We have been in consultation with the players and with other First Division clubs – not just in the last day or so, but in the last couple of weeks.

‘Whilst all activities are suspended, all wages and expenses are suspended. When activities resume, we will resume with payments,’ O’Driscoll told the Wicklow People.

‘We are obviously a lot different to some of the Premier clubs, as far as they have dramatically different commitments. Most of the players that play for us – there are a lot of amateur players.

The cessation of all football has led to an outpouring of support towards clubs on social media, with people urging fans to support the various teams in the best way that they could.

While O’Driscoll was grateful for this, he insisted that it was not something that he would be pushing for people to do.

‘We have to be realistic. The priorities here, for everybody, are their families,’ he said.

‘I don’t think that it is appropriate for football clubs in the current climate to be saying, ‘oh, give us money’, when people’s priorities are often different.

‘Our priorities are the well-being of players. At the end of the day, money is not the priority to anybody, at the moment.

‘There will come a time when we will look to supporters, so far they have been quite good, but we have to understand the position that they are all in.

‘Is there a price on a human life? I don’t think there is. What we must do is make sure that Bray Wanderers are here at the end of this.’

On Monday, the PFAI reportedly held talks with First Division club representatives and the FAI to discuss possible assistance for teams faced with financial struggles stemming from the suspension of the league of Ireland.

‘We had discussions [Monday] to see is there some way that we can find here a middle ground that can assist both sides, and can there be some assistance given to the clubs and is there a point that the clubs can get to assist the players before they have to cut off payments’, Stephen McGuinness, general secretary of the PFAI, told the Irish Examiner.

Quarter-final: Temple Carrig School 6-7, Avondale CC 2-5. The winners to play Coláiste Bhríde Carnew in the semi-final.

Semi-final: Coláiste Chraobh Abhann Kilcoole 10-13, Coláiste Chill Mhantáin 4-5