LIVERPOOL U-TURN
Reds reverse decision to furlough non-playing staff
LIVERPOOL have dramatically reversed their decision to accept Government funding, after chief executive Peter Moore admitted: ‘We came to the wrong conclusion.’
The Anfield club announced on Saturday that they intended to take advantage of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme introduced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, with more than half of their non-playing staff being furloughed. This led to ferocious criticism from fans and former players.
Fenway Sports Group — Liverpool’s Boston-based American owners — engaged in discussions with Moore, Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and influential fans’ union Spirit of Shankly after becoming aware of the backlash.
The talks — which also involved Billy Hogan, the club’s chief commercial officer, and chief finance officer Andy Hughes, but not manager Jurgen Klopp or senior players — resulted in Moore releasing a letter to supporters on the club’s website to explain that they had made an error of judgment.
Moore wrote: ‘Allowing for perspective in these unprecedented and harrowing times, it is important to address an issue we, as an
organisation, have been involved in since the weekend.
‘We have consulted with a range of key stakeholders as part of a process aimed at achieving the best possible outcome for all concerned.
‘A range of possible scenarios were considered, including but not restricted to: applying to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme which pays 80 per cent of salary and guaranteeing the 20 per cent payment, applying to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme with a guarantee to reimburse monies received at a later date and, thirdly, finding an alternative means to cover our furlough costs.
‘It is as a direct result of this extensive consultation — and our own internal deliberations at various levels throughout the club — that we have opted to find alternative means, despite our eligibility to apply for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.
‘We believe we came to the wrong conclusion last week to announce that we intended to apply to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and furlough staff due to the suspension of the Premier League football calendar and are truly sorry for that.’
This is not the first time FSG — whose key figures are principal owner John W Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Mike Gordon — have reversed a controversial decision. In February 2016 they abandoned plans to introduce tickets for £77, following a mass walkout at Anfield.
FSG are conscious of the way they are publicly perceived and were left in no doubt that accepting state intervention was not a good look for a company whose turnover was £533million in the last financial year. The Champions League winners made a profit of £42m. Some of those staff who were initially furloughed will now return to their positions — it is up to heads of department to decide how the workforce is distributed — but Moore warned that Liverpool will face more turbulent times the longer they are not playing football.
Moore said: ‘ We must be clear, despite the fact that we were in a healthy position prior to this crisis, our revenues have been shut off yet our outgoings remain.
‘The club continues to prepare for a range of different scenarios. It is an unavoidable truth that several of these scenarios involve a massive downturn in revenue.’