With many low-paying workers in football losing their job as a result of coronavirus, Borussia Monchengladbach’s players decided to donate all their salary.
According to German newspaper Bild, they are the first professional club in Germany that voluntarily offered sacrifice their salary including coach Marco Rose and the club’s directors.
“The players know what’s going on,” said the Bundesliga club’s managing director Stephan Schippers.
“It is their job. They have already informed themselves and thought about it.”
“The team has offered to forgo salary if it can help the club and the employees.
“The goal is for Borussia Monchengladbach to survive this corona crisis. The goal is to do this without having to give notice of termination.
“To do this, we will all have to work hard together and we cannot rule out that this will also include measures being taken by affected companies throughout Germany, for example the use of short-time work.”
“Every euro we don’t have to refund [to fans for postponed games] will help us”, agreed with his assessment that playing behind closed doors could be the “only way to survive” even though it would still cost them around 2m euros per game to do so.
“We all agree Bundesliga football without spectators is not what we want.
“But for the next few weeks and months we have to realise that only a continuation of the Bundesliga games – without spectators – should enable many clubs to survive economically.”
On Wednesday, the German Football Association (DFB) said the national team would donate 2.5m euros as coronavirus is affecting broadcast, sponsorship and ticketing money.
The football industry in Germany currently employs around 56,000 people.