Footballers to be told: Take a 30% pay cut

PREMIER League players will be asked to take a 30 per cent pay cut following a row over clubs using the Government’s furlough scheme to pay staff.

It came after Health Secretary Matt Hancock called for footballers to ‘play their part’.

Clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich and Newcastle have been criticised for using the job retention scheme to pay non-playing staff at the taxpayers’ expense.

Mr Hancock said: ‘Given the sacrifices that many people are making, including some of my colleagues in the NHS who have made the ultimate sacrifice... I think the first thing that Premier League footballers can do is make a contribution, take a pay cut and play their part.’

But his comments saw him embroiled in a row with former England defender Gary Neville who accused Mr Hancock of having a ‘f****** cheek’ to ask players to take pay cuts when he and the Government couldn’t organise essential virus tests for vital staff.

Gary Lineker also defended the players. Lineker, who said he would donate two months of his £1.75 million BBC salary to the British Red Cross , said: ‘I think a lot of footballers will do something. It’s now up to the players how to respond. Let’s give them a chance to respond before this hugely judgmental pile- on that we always get.

‘My inkling is that footballers will take pay cuts.’ Yesterday, Manchester United footballers became the first Premier League stars to slash their wages after agreeing to forgo 30 per cent of their pay packets for one month. The decision was made on the agreement that the money would be used to benefit hospitals and health centres throughout Manchester.

Later, the Premier League announced that its other clubs had agreed to consult with their players concerning a 30 per cent wage deferral, to help to pay non-playing staff.

It also voted to provide £125 million to Football League and National League teams to help with their cashflow problems, and £20 million to support the NHS, communities, families and vulnerable groups. Gordon Taylor – who earns £2.2 million a year as Professional Footballers’ Association chief – had earlier said he wanted to know the financial position of a club before agreeing to any deferral of wages.

The 75-year-old, dubbed the ‘ biggest fat cat in football’, said top-flight players should not take pay cuts to ease the financial pressure on clubs.

The PFA criticised clubs for using the furlough scheme when they had the resources to pay non-playing staff.

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‘It’s now up to the players’