“The team considers such a step necessary”: Lokomotiv footballers agreed to lower salaries due to coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic crisis caused many football clubs to reduce the salaries of players. In some teams, football players and the coaching staff are sympathetic to such measures and agree to the proposed conditions; in others, conflicts erupt on this basis, which sooner or later become public.

Among Russian giants, Lokomotiv was the last to take such a step. After Zenit, Spartak, CSKA and other less wealthy clubs had already announced spending cuts, the railroad workers continued to remain silent about the salaries of the players.

On April 6, it became known that Lokomotiv would still cut its budget, but at the expense of management salaries. So, the club’s general director Vasily Kiknadze agreed to a 40 percent reduction in salary.

“All our division heads decided to go down during the break of the championship. Did this to make the team more accommodating? I do not want to separate the team and the club. The club management shows that it does not leave the team, but in difficult times it shares responsibility with it. I especially want to note that our dialogue with the team takes place in a working spirit and does not require discussion in the media. I’ll leave it to the conscience of those who brought the discussion to the public, ”Kiknadze told the Championship.

According to Sports Day after Day, the next day a meeting was held between the leadership of Lokomotiv and the players. It was planned to discuss a reduction in the salaries of players, but they completely refused to agree to any concessions. The reason was that the club did not invite head coach Yuri Semin and his assistants to the meeting. The sports media have repeatedly reported on the conflict between him and Kiknadze previously.

After that, the parties paused in the negotiations, but Semin broke the silence by publishing a column in Sport Express. The head coach of the "railroad" sided with the players and demanded to stop demanding them to reduce salaries.

“Around the players unfolded real hysteria. Sometimes it seems that it depends on whether the coronavirus is stopped. No one asks about the reduction of salaries of members of the State Duma or top managers of various companies who also cannot - in whole or in part - carry out their activities. Maybe I missed something. But for some reason they say only about football players. I am convinced that such a shift in attention towards them is absolutely unfair, ”Semin said.

The coach emotionally said that many players come from poor families and should support their relatives. Semin called for financial assistance to football, along with other sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is very simple to tell the player:“ Give part of the salary! ” Moreover, such an appeal will be popular among part of the people. It is much more difficult to treat a football player with respect, and always and regardless of the situation. But - and much more correct. Because he, a football player, brings to so many people those emotions that they lack so much today. And you should never forget about it, ”wrote the mentor of Lokomotiv.

Semin's column caused a mostly negative reaction in the football community. Former member of the Executive Committee of the RFU, State Duma deputy Igor Lebedev recalled that the main sponsor of Lokomotiv is the state-owned corporation of Russian Railways, so players can not refuse to reduce salaries.

“When you sit on the money of a large corporation that makes money on our population, it’s easy to talk about someone else. “Barcelona” here earns itself. European athletes have long made donations to the fight against coronavirus. I have not heard that one of our great athletes donated at least a penny. As soon as they raised the issue of tightening their belts, everyone began to resent, ”Lebedev said.

Another State Duma deputy, former head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Gazzayev, also believes that players in the current situation have no right to refuse to reduce salaries. He called these measures a duty that athletes must fulfill.

“Now all professional sports all over the world are going to lower salaries in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. This applies to football players, hockey players, basketball players and many others. We all need to help doctors and others who are struggling with this threat. Now it is the duty of any athlete. By the way, the deputies do not have millions of contracts, unlike football players. But I am sure that both deputies and officials will take this step. Everyone must contribute. This is the civic duty of any person to such a terrible threat, ”said Gazzaev.

Famous commentators Vasily Utkin and Dmitry Guberniev also criticized Semin’s words. Former Lokomotiv CEO Yuri Gerkus noted that players honestly earn their money, but he recalled that in the current circumstances, salary cuts are more respectful than giving up.

One of the few who supported Semin was the former president of the club, Olga Smorodskaya. She called on the parties to resolve the conflict.

“A pandemic is not a time for conflict. You don’t have to run into anyone - neither the players, nor the rest of the athletes. The time is hard for everyone, and we must unite in order to somehow survive it, and not conflict over and without. So I largely agree with Yuri Pavlovich, "said Smorodskaya.

As a result, Lokomotiv football players agreed with the club’s management to reduce salaries by 40% until the pause in the Russian championship lasts. Team captain Vedran Chorluka said that in this way he wants to support the employees of Russian Railways, who were hit by the crisis.

“The coronavirus pandemic hit the familiar way of life and the economy of all countries. We have always been especially warm and respectful for the employees of Russian Railways who are worried about us. And now we must support them. Football, like the rest of the sport, has stopped, so players around the world are going to reduce wages during a break in the championships. Our team also considers such a step necessary, so the guys and I decided to abandon 40% of the salary before the end of the pandemic and the resumption of the season, ”the club’s press service quoted Chorluka as saying.

Thus, there are six clubs left in the RPL, which have not yet announced a reduction in the salaries of their players. These included Krasnodar, Rostov, Ural, Orenburg, Tambov and Akhmat.