The hazard warning signal has been flashing since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has issued a grim warning of a potential £1billion loss that Football Association chairman Greg Clarke forecasts could bring about the “danger of losing clubs and leagues”.
Wrestling as best they can to get a grip on the situation as it’s constantly evolving, talks are currently still on-going between clubs in the top echelons and players about a 30 per cent pay cut comprising conditional reductions and salary deferrals.
Gordon Taylor, Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive, says its members will “play their part” although no agreement has been struck as yet at an increasingly crucial time when the issue of pay has become the hot bed of discussion especially when considering that some top-flight clubs have actually resorted to furloughing employees.
This delay on the part of the PFA has prompted Julian Knight, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, to call for the imposition of a windfall tax on Premier League clubs if the Government’s scheme is utilised without a pay cut or deferral for players. This of course resulted in a strong response from PL’s chief executive, Masters.
“We face a £1billion loss, at least, if we fail to complete season 2019-20, and further losses going forward if the seriousness of the pandemic deepens and extends into the future,” he wrote in his letter that emerged after FA chairman Clarke said everyone must “step up and share the pain” inflicted on football, having announced earlier on Monday that the governing body’s top earners were taking a 30 per cent among other cost-saving measures.
Clarke told the FA Council on Tuesday: “Football faces economic challenges beyond the wildest imagination of those who run it.
“The pandemic will be followed by its economic consequences and all business sectors will suffer.
“We face the danger of losing clubs and leagues as finances collapse. Many communities could lose the clubs at their heart with little chance of resurrection.
“In the face of this unprecedented adversity, all the stakeholders within the game from players, fans, clubs, owners and administrators need to step up and share the pain to keep the game alive.”
Professional football in England has been suspended indefinitely with its fate hanging delicately on the balancing scale and a return date to action being constantly monitored and reviewed. Seen in a positive light, this means the season is optimistically set to go well beyond the intended finish date. The operative word is ‘optimistically’.
To facilitate this, FIFA has announced measures primed to extend players’ contracts and establish a transfer window based around any new calendar that is realistically achievable pending the outcome of the pandemic.