CAPTAINS FANTASTIC
PEOPLE WERE TOO QUICK TO CONDEMN PLAYERS FOR DELAY IN TAKING A PAY CUT
PREMIER LEAGUE stars should not be judged or condemned for waiting so long to take a pay cut, according to Brighton chief executive Paul Barber.
He announced on Thursday that Seagulls boss Graham Potter, director of football Dan Ashworth (far right, bottom) and himself had all agreed to take a significant three-month pay drop to help the club avoid furloughing non-playing staff.
But players were unable to follow suit until the PFA finally announced plans to consult members about a
30 per cent drop.
Now Barber and Potter say we should have learned from what happened at
Barcelona.
Players at the
Nou Camp came under fire before Lionel Messi (bottom) announced on Monday that the star-studded squad would take a 70 per cent cut and make contributions to ensure non-playing staff stayed in a job.
Barber (right, top) said: “I think it’s important not to rush to condemn or judge people.
The talks are going on and have been for several days. So, let’s see where we get to.
“Any criticism hurts because it matters. Nobody likes to be criticised, individually, collectively or as an industry.
“We live our lives in the public eye and we understand how important people’s opinions are.”
Barber feels players are being harshly treated because in reality they may be unable to make a personal decision to drop wages when the issue is being decided above their heads. He added: “We would obviously deal with whatever came to us, but I think at the moment we’ve agreed and accepted that the leagues and the unions are discussing it at that level.”
And Potter jumped to the defence of players, adding: “I understand the criticism and the perception, but we saw the same at Barcelona. So, give them a chance.
“People jumped on Barcelona and in a quite negative way during an open dialogue and in the end they all agreed on 70 per cent.”