Tottenham make U-turn on decision to furlough staff after fans' fierce criticism
Tottenham Hotspur have reversed their decision to furlough non-playing staff under a government scheme and acknowledged pressure from supporters forced them to change their mind.
Spurs sparked outrage two weeks ago when they announced plans to seek funding from the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme and furlough their non-playing staff. While other Premier League clubs followed suit, pressure from supporters subsequently forced Liverpool to change their minds. Now Tottenham have also aborted the idea, with all 550 non-playing staff guaranteed full pay until the end of May.
In a statement released via their website, the club said: “We are acutely aware that many supporters were against the decision we made regarding furloughing staff … and our intention to apply, if applicable, for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).
“Indeed we have seen opposition from fans to fellow Premier League clubs accessing the CJRS too. This once again underlines that we bear different pressure to other businesses, many of whom have and will continue to apply for support from the scheme as the government intended.
“In view of supporter sentiment regarding the scheme it is not our intention to make use of the current CJRS that runs until the end of May. We shall consult with stakeholders, including the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust [THST], with whom we have been in dialogue over the past week and who share our desire to protect jobs, should circumstances change going forward.”
The supporters’ trust has been praised for the critical but constructive way in which it approached the issue with the club. The THST board said it was “delighted” that non-playing staff were now to receive their full wage.
“It takes maturity and humility to reverse such a contentious and public decision and we’re pleased that, rather than doubling down, the club’s board has listened to the fans on this occasion and ultimately done the right thing,” the board said. “No organisation is going to get everything right in these unprecedented circumstances and the eventual outcome is what matters.
“We’re delighted for the club’s nonplaying staff and we thank the club’s directors for finding an alternative way forward. This is the first step, but a big step, in restoring relations between fans and the club.”
Neither THST nor Spirit of Shankly, the supporters group credited with influencing Liverpool’s turnaround, have permanent representation on their club’s board of directors.
The Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, had come in for criticism over the club’s plans and in personal remarks released alongside the club statement, he sought to explain the original decision. “It was never our intent, as custodians, to do anything other than put measures in place to protect jobs whilst the club sought to continue to operate in a self-sufficient manner during uncertain times,” he said.
“We regret any concern caused during an anxious time and hope the work our supporters will see us doing in the coming weeks, as our stadium takes on a whole new purpose, will make them proud of their club.”
That new purpose will see the Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium become a drive-through Covid-19 testing centre for NHS staff and their dependants. It will be the first sports stadium in the UK to be transformed in such a way and follows an earlier decision by the club – preceding the furlough announcement – to offer the services of their medical staff to the NHS for the duration of the crisis.
Elsewhere, talks are understood to be continuing between the club and Tottenham’s players over possible wage cuts or deferrals, with a return date for professional football still uncertain.