Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson came with the idea of establishing a charitable fund and have held talks with the rest of captains of Premier League clubs during the coronavirus crisis.<\/p>\n
The talk took place shortly before\u00a0the Premier League announced\u00a0it would ask players to take a 30% pay cut in order to protect jobs.<\/p>\n
During the call, Premier League captains discussed wage deferrals or cuts, or a move to help fund a charitable cause.<\/p>\n
They also discussed ongoing talks involving the Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union.<\/p>\n
It is understood players are in advanced talks to set up a collective fund which will offer a “seriously significant” amount, with the NHS that will be the main beneficiary.<\/p>\n
This comes after Premier League players were criticised by the UK government for not playing their part after some clubs asked an unpaid leave for non-playing staff but not at players’ wages.<\/p>\n
In the Premier League, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, who earned \u00a37m last year, is one of those to give up a fifth of their earnings and called the others to “do their bit for the football eco-system”.<\/p>\n
But Palace player Andros Townsend was unhappy with the criticism.<\/p>\n
“Football is trying to do a lot of good. To wake up yesterday and see footballers being painted as villains was a bit of a surprise.<\/p>\n
“The health secretary, deflecting blame on to footballers: I don’t think that is right. His job is the responsibility of NHS workers. NHS workers have been underpaid for years.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"