THE PFA is holding urgent talks with the Premier League and EFL over the financial cost of suspending action due to coronavirus.
Some top-flight clubs have already been in talks with the PFA over whether it would be acceptable to delay a portion of wages until the crisis ends.
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The PFA is holding an urgent meeting with the Premier League and EFL over paying players’ wagesCredit: PA:Press Association
What time is the meeting today?
The PFL are holding talks with the Premier League and EFL today (Friday March 27).
The urgent meeting is expected to start at mid-morning and continue for most of the day.
Talks like these usually commence around 10.30-11am.
What is on the agenda?
Top of the agenda is going to be the possibility of deferring payment to players.
This is something that the PFA – the players’ football union – will want to deny at all costs.
On Tuesday 24 March, Birmingham City became the first Championship club to ask its players to take payment deferrals.
On Wednesday 25 March, the PFA called for this meeting with the Premier League and EFL to discuss a way through the crisis.
Talks have already taken place between the three parties prior to today’s meeting and this is set to be a continuation of those discussions.
On Thursday 26 March, Championship leaders Leeds confirmed that their players, management and senior staff had volunteered to defer their wages to ensure all non-football related staff would get paid.
The three parties might also discuss when professional football in England will return.
The initial suspension of April 3 was extended to April 30, meaning no action will take place until May.
But with the country currently in lockdown for at least three weeks, that return date seems increasingly unlikely.
What has been said?
In a statement, the PFA – run by union chief Gordon Taylor – said: “As with other industries, the current Covid-19 crisis is having a severe impact on the game’s finances.
“Several clubs have already approached players with a view to imposing pay deferrals.
“In order to deal with this situation, we have called for an urgent meeting with the Premier League and the English Football League to discuss how we might proceed.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
