London (AFP)
House of Commons sports commission chairman Julian Knight wrote to the government on Thursday to demand a tax on Premier League clubs that he believes are insufficiently financially supportive in the face of the coronavirus epidemic .
"I am writing to express my deep dismay at the decision made by certain Premier League clubs to put their non-player employees on partial unemployment while continuing to pay their players," wrote Knight to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ( Minister of Finance), Richi Sunak.
"This two-speed system is morally unacceptable, especially given the very high salaries paid to certain players," continued the chairman of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sports committee.
Knight has asked the Premier League to reach an agreement with the players by Tuesday to allow lower wages.
"If this is not the case, I propose that the British Treasury consider, in due course, the creation of an ad-hoc tax to recover a substantial part of the money paid by the clubs to their players", advances still the chosen one.
His point seems to particularly target Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich, three clubs of the elite who have chosen to take advantage of the system of partial unemployment put in place by the government which supports 80% of the income of the staff affected, up to 2,500 pounds per month.
On the other hand, none of these clubs, nor any other in the Premier League has so far announced any financial sacrifice of their players, even if among the Spurs certain leaders, including President Daniel Levy, have also lowered their salaries by 20 %.
The Premier League - where the players 'union, the very influential Professional footballers' association (PFA), and that of the coaches, refuse to hear about a salary cut, wishing only for postponements at worst - is quite isolated in Europe.
Big clubs like Bayern, Barcelona or Juventus have already seen their players reduce their fees to help their club in this difficult pass, said the Conservative MP.
However, the anti-wage drop front is starting to crack with the "substantial" efforts made by Bournemouth coaches Eddie Howe and Brighton Graham Potter on Wednesday and Thursday.
© 2020 AFP