London (AFP)
The British government on Thursday called on Premier League players accused of taking advantage of the economic support measures adopted in response to the new coronavirus pandemic to give up part of their salary.
"Everyone has to play their part and that means the Premier League players too," said Health Minister Matt Hancock at a press conference. "The first thing they can do to help is accept a cut in wages," he added.
Tottenham, Newcastle and Norwich, three elite clubs, recently announced that they will place their non-player staff under the government’s short-work program which supports 80% of revenues up to 2,500 pounds per month.
On the other hand, none of these clubs, nor any other in the Premier League, has yet announced financial sacrifice for their players, even if among the Spurs certain leaders, including President Daniel Levy, have lowered their salaries by 20 %.
Faced with criticism, the president of the commission in charge of sports in the House of Commons, Julian Knight, wrote Thursday to the government to demand a tax against clubs he considers insufficiently united.
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 "substantial" efforts made by Bournemouth coaches Eddie Howe and Brighton Graham Potter on Wednesday and Thursday.
© 2020 AFP