When the Government told Prem stars to take a pay cut, my jaw dropped .. lots of players were already donating and doing their bit
ANDY ROBERTSON could not believe it when Health Secretary Matt Hancock attacked footballers over their wages amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Liverpool defender reveals his feelings at the time when he and his girlfriend Rachel tuned into the press conferences during lockdown.
“The Government’s daily briefings became must- watch TV in the Robertson household,” he said. “Rach and myself would make sure we made time for them m as it was so important that we knew what was going on and were able to understand nderstand it.
“Like most st people in the country, I was struggling with the way the Government overnment was handling the situation but I also recognised there here were so many complexities at play that even the very best administraave administration would have had a battle on its hands. ands.
“As it was, we had
Matt Hancock, k, the
Secretary of State tate for health and social care no less, using up valuable time to tel l Premier er
League footballers allld they should be doing more e to help.” Referring ng to the Scott t McTominay y goal that sealed Manchester United’s win over Manchester City in March, Robertson added: “I was sat on the couch, on the same seat I had bounced on when McTominay sent me into raptures a few weeks earlier, when he said it.
“This time I didn’t move. My jaw dropped and I just stared at the television in total disbelief.
“Premier League players, ‘Should take a pay cut and play their part’, he said.
“It was baffling how he could come out with something g like that, particularly as reducing our pay pa would also have slashed the am amount that we would contribute to the exchequer uer at a time of fi financial crisis. I’d be the first to a admit footballers ers at the veryy very hig highest level are privileged, having come from a background in which money is much harder to come by.
“I also accept we have a responsibility to contribute and fully support the principle that our taxes are used to support the NHS, state schools, social care and the welfare state as a whole.
“Most footballers are the same in this respect. We tend to come from humble backgrounds, often working class, and know how tough some people have it.
“It is this kind of knowledge and experience which means the collective social conscience in our sport is as strong as it has ever been.
“We don’t need to be singled out, held up as a symbol of selfishness, when the opposite is true more often than not. “Mr Hancock’s comments were unfair and they were also uninformed. There was no mention of other wealthy individuals, in sport or other industries. The only people in the crosshairs were footballers. Whether it got publicised or not, a lot of players were very active at that time.
“I knew that from my own experience with team- mates making anonymous donations to local hospitals, children’s charities, care homes, foodbanks, mental health organisations and other good causes besides.”
Among them was Robertson’s Anf i eld team- mate Jordan Henderson ( left).
“Hendo had already set up a coronavirus fund for the NHS, Players Together, which captains of all Premier League clubs got involved with on behalf of team-mates,” said Robertson.
“It only became a big story later in lockdown, but Marcus Rashford was supporting kids who were wondering where their next meals were coming from. The Health Secretary may not have been aware of this but when you’re a Government minister it’s pretty easy to find out what individuals and groups are doing, but he didn’t bother.
“He shot from the hip and we were the ones in the firing line.
“I did have some guilt. Personal wealth was never something I expected to have and I doubt I’ll ever be totally comfortable with it as I know a lot of people are struggling, but I also saw the unfairness in the debate being taken in this particular direction.
“If anyone from the Government had wanted to have a conversation about how society can come together to ensure foodbanks are no longer a necessity, fine. I would have been all ears.
“Until then footballers, including myself, will continue to support those causes because we know that without that kind of support the type of poverty that’s far too commonplace in cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool wi l l on l y worsen.”
‘Mr Hancock shot from the hip and footballers were in the firing line’