Tottenham cut non-playing staff wages due to coronavirus as Levy calls on players, coaches to 'do their bit'
Tottenham have cut the wages of all 550 of the club's non-playing staff by 20 per cent for April and May, as chairman Daniel Levy urged people "to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us" during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a heartfelt statement, Levy said he hoped players and coaches would also "do their bit", as talks continue between the Premier League, clubs and the Professional Footballers' Association over wage cuts or deferrals during football's shutdown.
Levy, who last month warned that the crisis could "undermine the long-term stability" of Tottenham, warned that "many clubs whether big or small may struggle to exist" after the crisis.
The 58-year-old businessman backed UK government's social distancing measures and described the decision to "effectively close down economies" across the world as the most impactful development of his lifetime.
The chairman also appealed for perspective and said football cannot continue to "operate in a bubble" while the death toll from the Covid-19 outbreak continues to rise.
He said: "The decision by governments around the world to effectively close down economies with unheard of peacetime impacts on civil liberties in order to minimise the terrible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is the right one to protect human lives.
"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.
"When I read or hear stories about player transfers this summer like nothing has happened, people need to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us. 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 maybe 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.
"The Club’s operations have effectively ceased, some of our fans will have lost their jobs and most will be worried about their future. Our sponsors will be concerned about their businesses and our media partners have no certainty when we may play games again or whether we will be allowed to play in front of our fans. In the meantime, the Club has an annual cost base running into hundreds of millions of pounds.
"Yesterday, having already taken steps to reduce costs, we ourselves made the difficult decision – in order to protect jobs – to reduce the remuneration of all 550 non-playing directors and employees for April and May by 20% utilising, where appropriate, the Government’s furlough scheme. We shall continue to review this position.
"We hope the current discussions between the Premier League, PFA and LMA will result in players and coaches doing their bit for the football eco system.
"I have no doubt we will get through this crisis but life will take some time to get back to normal. Many families will have lost loved ones, many businesses will have been destroyed, millions of jobs lost and many Clubs whether big or small may struggle to exist. It is incumbent on me as Chairman to ensure we do everything we can to protect our employees, our fans, our partners, our Club for future generations – and equally important – our wider community where we have such an immense sense of responsibility."
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