Coronavirus: Tottenham's non-playing staff take pay cut

Published on: 31 March 2020

Tottenham Hotspur opened their new stadium last year

Tottenham's 550 non-playing staff will take a 20% pay cut during the coronavirus pandemic, the club announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The club will also use the Government's furlough scheme in an attempt to "protect jobs".

"We shall continue to review this position," Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said.

On Monday, Newcastle United became the first Premier League club to put non-playing staff on leave.

Levy added: "The crushing devastation on industries in many countries, the inter-dependence of international trade and travel in every aspect of our daily life is only now beginning to be felt.

"Every person on this planet will be affected and in my lifetime I cannot think of something so impactful. With over 786,000 infected, nearly 38,000 deaths and large segments of the world in lockdown we need to realise that football cannot operate in a bubble.

"We may be the eighth largest club in the world by revenue, according to the Deloitte survey, but all that historical data is totally irrelevant as this virus has no boundaries."

Levy, who earned £7m last year - £4m in wages plus £3m for the completion of Tottenham's stadium move - is among the 550 non-playing directors and employees at the club who will take a cut in salary, initially for April and May.

A number of football clubs have taken steps to reduce their costs.

Hearts were the first Scottish Premiership side to ask staff to take a salary reduction of 50% and on Tuesday Celtic manager Neil Lennon said wage cuts are a possibility.

Elsewhere in Europe, Barcelona players are taking a 70% pay cut and will make additional contributions to ensure non-sporting staff receive full wages.

Juventus players and manager Maurizio Sarri agreed to freeze their pay for four months, while German sides Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, have also agreed to take pay cuts.

Source: bbc.com

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