Worcester players fuming at owners over missing cash

ANGRY Worcester players have been left short-changed after the club failed to hand over thousands of pounds in agent’s fees.

Under new fee structures imposed this season, clubs are permitted to deduct a percentage from player salaries in order to pay to the agents.

However, The Mail on Sunday understands that co-owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham have not been passing on the funds in question.

The new legislation applies to all contracts starting from July 1, meaning up to 15 Worcester players — which includes Scotland trio Duhan van der Merwe, Rory Sutherland and Murray McCallum — have been losing between five and 10 per cent of their salaries.

One source claimed the latest financial mismanagement had left players ‘p ***** off’ amid the ongoing turmoil.

It is yet another debt that will be transferred over to any prospective investors, with a deal desperately required to keep the club afloat.

Today’s fixture against Exeter was on the brink of being called off after the RFU issued a Friday deadline to secure a safety certificate to stage the event.

It is understood that the majority of Worcester staff did not see the ultimatum until late on Thursday night as it was not passed on by Goldring and Whittingham.

To make matters more difficult, the club’s wifi and email system stopped working after the Microsoft licence expired.

Despite being paid zero or only 65 per cent of their salaries, non-playing staff worked through the night — only stopping between 1am and 5am — to ensure everything was put in place.

However, they may refuse to show the same goodwill ahead of next weekend’s fixture if the ownership situation is still not resolved.

Today’s stadium capacity will be capped at 4,999, although the actual attendance could be below that if supporters decide to make a stand against the ownership.

Goldring did not respond to requests for an interview but Worcester lock Joe Batley, who has endured his fair share of personal turmoil after recovering from cancer, said morale among the Warriors players and staff was still holding up.

‘It’s been a challenging time but the strength of the team and the staff has shown through,’ said Batley. ‘It’s more than just the 15 guys on the pitch who are experiencing the uncertainty of livelihoods being lost. It’s been emotional but we’re all in it together. It’s galvanised us. We just hope it gets sorted out.’