Mike Ashley becomes the first owner of the Premier League player to stop the wages of his staff; players will be still paid amidst the lockdown.
The spread of COVID-19 has stopped all the businesses around the world and is putting a huge financial strain upon the market. In football, the scenario is the same.
To assist the owners of the club, several players across the elite clubs have decided to take the pay cut to support the salaries of the staff members in the club.
However, according to the BBC, The coaching staff and players, who collectively earn £100 million, remain on full pay for now, but most of the general workforce is out of work amid the coronavirus outbreak which threatens to cause a financial crisis.
Managing director Lee Charnley sent an email to staff telling them they would need to apply for the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme.
This would allow them to claim back 80 per cent of their wages, to a maximum of £2,500 per month. This move includes, academy coaches and scouts but the first team coaches and players will still be paid.
Writing for Toon fan site ‘The Mag’, Dean Wilkins said: “I didn’t think it was possible to feel more ashamed to be a Newcastle United fan but this has brought an unprecedented low.
“I have become well used to embarrassing scenes on the pitch. However, to see what has been done by Mike Ashley off the pitch isn’t just embarrassing, it is scandalous.
“A billionaire who owns a football club that in the end didn’t spend around £28m of the transfer funds Lee Charnley said were available for this current season,”
“Yet instantly pulls the plug for paying normal staff’s wages, leaving them relying on the government to pay up to 80% of their usual pay.”
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