“I don’t understand the obligation”: Selyuk on the reduction of salaries for football players and the epidemic of coronavirus in Spain

“No club has the right to reduce salaries”

- How do you feel about the situation with a reduction in the salaries of football players due to the coronavirus pandemic? How legitimate is this?

- From a legal point of view, no club has the right to reduce wages without the permission of a football player. If the player does not agree with this, the club will pay all the money due to him. But the question is how different teams approach this. When the president invites athletes and tries to come to an agreement with them, this is one thing. Yes, they themselves see what is happening and want to help. I talked with many guys who are ready to refuse part of the salary, provided that they know where these funds went. And not just like that - they took and cut.

The situation is very delicate. Indeed, some may end existing contracts. It turns out that they should refuse part of the salary, not even knowing what will happen to them in the near future. They may not find another club. I believe that the rejection of part of the salary should be the initiative of the players themselves, to go from the bottom of their hearts. If they agree - let them do it. If not, no general director or president has the right to oblige him to do so.

- Do some RPL clubs try to force players to make concessions?

- I heard that there are problems. I read about the difficult situation in Lokomotiv, pressure on the guys. And, for example, in Tambov, with which I work closely, they are not going to cut anything, although this is a club with the smallest budget in the Premier League. Moreover, honestly, according to the regulations, the contracts of all RPL players are signed in rubles. It's just that for some they are tied to the dollar or euro. That is, it turns out that now the players have already lost a lot of money due to the depreciation of the ruble (about 20%), and now they must also abandon some of the salaries.

And I basically can’t understand the very definition of the word “cut”. If I were a player, and the head came to me with such a proposal, I would not give him the euro. I call such "stupid". From the point of view of legislation, this is not justified. Another thing is when you donate to hospitals. Unfortunately, in Russian clubs a certain army obligatory tyranny is often included. This should not be.

“But clubs are losing serious money because of the coronavirus pandemic.”

- And what has changed in Russia? If you take “Spartak”, then yes, the red-and-white people are collecting an almost full stadium for each match, and they will receive less money from ticket sales. But the season will still be played out, and all meetings will eventually take place. Even more people will come, because people miss football. Similarly, the games will be shown on television, it just does not happen in April, but in June. By the way, I can still understand salary cuts at Spartak, because the team is in eighth place and clearly does not fulfill the tasks assigned to it. The same can be said about Sochi, where people make good money and at the same time fight for survival.

- But the leading Zenit cut salaries to players by 50%. Why, then, according to media reports, are the Loko players persisting?

- The question is not for me, but the railway workers are in second place and are fighting for getting into the Champions League, and this can bring red and green at least € 25 million. That is, they help the club earn money. I am sure that the players themselves are no longer satisfied with the form in which they are asked to make concessions, and not the proposal itself. As for the “Zenith”, we do not know under what conditions Sergey Semak’s wards agreed to this. Perhaps in June they will be added to their salary 50% in April. But again, I do not understand the obligation. Why is Real Madrid not cutting salaries?

- But at the same time, they agreed in Barcelona.

- Not quite the right word. After all, Lionel Messi said in an interview that there should not be any pressure. The Argentinean and partners did it from the heart. But then again, perhaps part of the money will be returned to them after the resumption of the season. And exactly the same thing recently said Wayne Rooney. He said: “If the government asked me to financially support doctors and nurses or to buy the necessary equipment for hospitals, I would do so with pride. But exactly as long as I know where the funds go. ”

- One of your clients, Cedric Gogua, stands for CSKA. How is this issue resolved there?

“So far, we have not heard or seen anything.” Cedric said that negotiations are underway, but without specifics. I also know that in Dynamo, for which my client Charles Cabore stands, salaries have been reduced. I don’t know whether the pressure was on them or not, but all the players eventually agreed. Nobody forced anyone, they were explained why they should take such a step.

“The Ice Palace in Madrid was adapted for the morgue”

- Now you live in Barcelona. Tell us how the situation with coronavirus develops there.

- There is a unity of the people. I believe the same thing will happen in Russia. I hope that after the end of the pandemic, the profession of a doctor and a nurse will become much more respected and highly paid. In Europe, after all, at first they also treated the coronavirus frivolously. But now people really go to the balconies, terraces of their houses and applaud the doctors when they go to work. And at eight in the evening they are also met in the same way, lights are lit on mobile phones, and music is turned on. Thus, they support not only doctors, but also police officers, sellers, all those who work for the good of the country in these difficult times. The disease really rallied people.

- COVID -19 came to Spain much earlier, and you have already seen how a pandemic develops. What should we expect in the near future in Russia?

- As I already said, our attitude is, unfortunately, disregard. Oh sun! Yes, it’s okay - I’ll go out and fire the kebab on the quiet. Neighbors do not seem to be sick, why not sit with them? And this is scary. In Spain and Italy it was exactly the same. Why is the worst situation in these countries? Because people love to go out in the morning, sit in a cafe, chat with friends. They don’t even have breakfast at home.

“Has the attitude to the virus changed now?”

- Completely. Everyone is sitting at home. The streets of Barcelona are completely empty, there is not a single living soul. And as a result, a slowdown in the epidemic was recorded. Sick and dead much less. Previously, tens of thousands came to hospitals every day. Therefore, strict quarantine is necessary. In Russia they talked about a weekend week, but it’s impossible. This is not a weekend, but a house arrest. One and a half to two months, all one hundred percent will have to stay at home. And the longer the kebabs walk, the more they will have to be isolated by everyone else.

- But Fyodor Smolov interrupted his quarantine.

- Vasily Utkin said that Smolov missed his family. But what kind of family are you talking about if, by law, he is obliged to remain in quarantine for 14 days in complete isolation? Now he began to babble that he would carry out all the tasks of the Celta coaches, and would return at the first call. What the heresy? It turns out that in Spain he again has to quarantine. But here, in my opinion, training will resume in two or three weeks.

- In Spain, hospitals, like in Italy, could not cope with the influx of patients?

- Sure. No wonder the ice palace in Madrid was adapted for a morgue. Coffins stood on the floor. This is scary. This is not a joke, but a grief for many. But people have other health problems, someone canceled the operation. The people have to endure in difficult conditions for the sake of the common good. Therefore, it is necessary to convey to everyone in Russia how important it is to stay at home. Until people start to panic, everyone will pace the streets. Indeed, according to the news, they show how in the USA corpses are thrown off into special refrigeration units, and in Italy they do not even allow relatives to say goodbye to the dead. The funeral did not really take place in Spain.

- You have been collaborating with the Belarusian Slutsk for several years? What is your attitude to the fact that the national championship has not yet been stopped in the country?

“I don’t see anything wrong.” Alexander Lukashenko is doing everything right. Yes, in Belarus, the audience was not even limited access to the stands, so there are very few people gather in the stadiums. By the way, I do not think that it was necessary to interrupt the RPL.

Take the same "Ufa". Three tankmen and a dog come to the team. What is the risk? After all, you can test the players, and if someone finds out the coronavirus, then finish it. If everyone is healthy - you can play, the teams are at the bases in quarantine. After all, remember why the tournaments in Europe started to stop - there were positive tests for the players. And the first was Daniele Rugani from Juventus.

- What is the point of continuing to play if the championships have stopped in all other countries?

- And what did Belarus lose from such a decision? Nothing. But they got a lot. Major League is spoken about all over the world, tournament matches are shown in a number of countries. Good football there or bad, but one must not forget that Zenit lost to Dynamo Minsk - 0-4. Therefore, Russia should take a closer look at the Belarusians, given that they are not legionnaires in our country. Everywhere you can find a normal talented football player, it’s just that it’s customary for us to treat our neighbors down.