GARETH SOUTHGATE is ready to take a 30 per cent pay cut.
The England boss would give up almost £1million of his £3m-a-year salary as part of the FA’s attempt to cope with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Gareth Southgate will take a 30 per cent pay cut during coronavirus outbreakCredit: AFP
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Wembley chiefs are looking at measures to manage the crisis and Southgate’s move would add extra fuel to the debate about who should bear the burden as English football tries to fend off economic meltdown.
Players are resisting demands from Premier League and club chiefs to accept an across-the-board wage cut of up to 30 per cent.
But Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe and other senior figures at the club, along with Brighton head coach Graham Potter and equivalent top staff at the Amex, have all taken substantial reductions in pay.
It is understood the option of putting some of the FA’s staff of more than 1,000 on furlough is on the table.
If that happened, the governing body would attract far less criticism than clubs like Tottenham and Liverpool, who have applied for the Government’s help to pay 80 per cent of their non-playing staff’s wages.
The FA is a non-profit-making organisation and is set to lose £150m, with broadcast partners withholding payments for FA Cup quarter-final ties that were not played.
Southgate is the highest-paid employee and his acceptance of a pay cut would suggest greater solidarity with the workforce than most clubs have shown so far.
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An FA spokesperson said: “The financial implications of the coronavirus are not yet known.
“However, as a not-for-profit organisation we want to ensure we take the appropriate course of action to support the wider organisation and our employees.
“We will make a further announcement on our next steps in due course.”
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