Edinburgh (AFP)
Scottish XV coach Gregor Townsend will defer payment of 25% of his salary while rugby, like the rest of the sport, is stopped due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Scottish Federation announced on Tuesday ( SRU).
The deferral of payment, which covers the period from April 1 to September 1, will also apply to managers of the two Scottish professional clubs, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and SRU boss Mark Dodson.
Dodson's income caused a scandal in the United Kingdom, when the press revealed that he had received more than one million euros in 2019 between salary and bonuses.
And the fact that he only postpones the payment, instead of reducing his salary while rugby is stopped, risks fueling the controversy.
Cutting player wages is not yet on the agenda, but the SRU admitted on Tuesday that the Covid-19 pandemic could have consequences "for some time to come".
The lack of revenue due to the cessation of the championships has therefore prompted the leaders of English rugby, including coach Eddie Jones, to reduce their wages by 25%.
In the United States, the federation has started a liquidation procedure, the health situation having exacerbated its financial problems.
The Scottish federation has also announced that it will freeze "non-emergency" expenses related to its headquarters in Murrayfield, including those related to the new stadium project.
The Scottish government offered the Murrayfield compound as "anything that could be useful to the country" during the pandemic.
© 2020 AFP