Premier League stars taking 20 per cent wage cuts would give NHS staggering £100m in fight against coronavirus
PREMIER LEAGUE stars are being urged to take a pay cut during the coronavirus pandemic with a potential £100million ready to be contributed to the fight.
Clubs across Europe are instilling salary reductions to ensure regular staff are paid during football's lockdown - but English football is yet to agree on its next step.
Given these numbers are for the 2017/18 season, they are undoubtedly higher now after salaries rose 15 per cent to reach that figure from the previous year.
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Criticism has been launched at players for being slow to react to the pandemic, which has caused an unprecedented crisis for the global economy and many countries' healthcare systems.
Reports on Friday revealed Manchester United players are set to donate 30 per cent of their wages for a month to the NHS.
In addition, Tottenham, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Norwich have controversially furloughed some staff members - requiring the government to pay up to 80 per cent of their wages despite the vast revenues made by every Premier League team.
In taking his own pay cut of around £300,000, former Spurs star Gary Lineker urged others to do more, stating: "I expect, and hope, and think it's right, that footballers will do their bit."
However he has condemned politicians for targeting footballers and the Players Football Association for "rarely give giving great guidance or leadership".
He added: "If it transpires that [players] don’t [contribute], I’ll be their harshest critic. Let’s see before we judge."
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Health secretary Matt Hancock had asserted that the "first thing Premier League footballers can do is make a contribution."
Julian Knight MP, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee hit out at the Premier League's "moral vacuum" and Labour's David Lammy MP called it: "Criminal that footballers haven’t moved more quickly to take pay cuts and deferrals."
Important in formulating a unified pay cut, the PFA last night stated: "Our current position is that - as businesses - if clubs can afford to pay their players and staff, they should.
They added: “We fully accept that players will have to be flexible and share the financial burden."