'A terrible position': A-League clubs and players reach impasse over pay deal
To say A-League players did it tough to get the domestic season completed is akin to saying Harry Kewell had the merest hint of talent. The Wellington Phoenix squad have only this week emerged to see if their families still recognise them, after entering a hub in Australia over 80 days ago. The players from the three Victorian clubs meantime, probably still wake up in cold sweats over their abortive attempts to cross the New South Wales border.
The players also took a big hit financially. A short-term collective bargaining agreement was struck, after some intense negotiating, that saw some take salary cuts of up to 80%. Yet just a fortnight after Rhyan Grant thrust his chest out, sprinter-style, to get Sydney FC over the line for a fifth title, the A-League’s 300-odd professionals are again back at the starting blocks.
The short-term CBA deal ran out the day after the most famous mullet in the A-League cavorted off to celebrate down the sidelines of Bankwest Stadium. Now, in the wake of Covid-19 and a much reduced television deal with Fox Sports, the clubs have proposed a new deal with cuts of up to 30% for some players. The Australian Professional Football Clubs Association insists they have no choice.
“Every club will lose money this coming season, no ifs, no buts. We are in a terrible position,” said APFCA chairman Paul Lederer, who believes the clubs have collectively lost tens of millions of dollars during Covid-19. “We are not enjoying it, but it is what it is. We have to make sure all the players survive, and the clubs too.”
But while the players’ union, Professional Footballers Australia, understands the need for cuts, it is the detail of the proposal that is causing consternation. A nationwide poll of players returned a firm “no” to the offer on Tuesday, leaving talks deadlocked.
In essence, the players’ issue is the 30% cut for selected players at the unilateral discretion of the clubs. The
PFA believes this will create a twotier system and a whole host of divided dressing-rooms. Major asset players (such as Adelaide United’s Riley McGree, for example), would be unlikely to be hit with a cut due to their ability to attract a transfer value. Others – at the end of their career, or perhaps injured – could suffer more. Under the terms of the new deal, if players refused such a cut, they would be released from their contracts.
“It reduces the capacity of the ALeague to attract and retain talent,” said PFA co-chair, Beau Busch. “We want the clubs to respect the integrity of the contracts they entered into in good faith, and for both parties to have equal power to enter into any future negotiation.”
Trying to navigate this minefield is a tricky business. The PFA put forward alternative suggestions, such as staggered cuts over three years, or a salarycap free year, so players could negotiate with their individual clubs. But so far, to no avail. Already, several top players such as Mitch Duke, Dimi Petratos and Steven Taylor have headed to the exit door and gone overseas. If that trickle of talent is not to become a stampede, then an agreement is imperative.
Tuesday was due to be the first pay day for many A-League players since the temporary CBA ended. It is believed some clubs abided by the terms of the existing player contracts – Sydney FC, Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory among them – while others paid half of what was due. More worryingly, some were reportedly considering standing their players down.
If that were to happen, then tensions would be inflamed – and Busch said the situation is taking a toll on his members. “We have a mental health referral network across the country. The uncertainty has had a significant impact. We are seeing increasing numbers of players seeking professional help,” he said.
At a time when the A-League needs to reset for arguably its most critical campaign yet – to attract new sponsors and broadcast interest ahead of the conclusion of the Fox deal – it is not an ideal situation. FFA CEO James Johnson has indicated that if the two parties cannot find common ground, then he will step in. But his message to the clubs ahead of their belated independence from the governing body, is clear.
“The APFCA have assumed responsibility of negotiating the league’s CBA with the PFA,” he said. “We are conscious that an outcome has yet to be reached. FFA has assumed the role of regulator – and we will intervene if we believe it is in the best interests of the
game to do so.”
Johnson’s involvement would be an embarrassing, but nonetheless, potentially necessary outcome for the clubs, who held their own meeting on Tuesday to discuss the impasse. A lengthy industrial dispute is not the best sell for prospective investors into a newly independent league. The players meantime, many with mortgages to pay and families
to feed, sit and wait.