Footballer’s and their pay

[Guyonhere1]

Recently heard Matt Hancock’s comments about how footballers should give their wages away. AIBU to disagree with his comments - it’s their money and he shouldn’t be highlighting one industry when there are so many other people that can also help?

As I understand it the issue is an ethical one. Should Football Clubs place numerous backroom staff on redundancy for their furlough payments to be picked up by the tax payer, whilst continuing to pay their pampered prima Donna's their millions.
I think not.
If the prima Donna's had their salaries cut by 20% then the clubs could continue to pay all their other staff.
Thereby saving the tax payers money for more important things.

This makes complete sense and I agree, but I disagree with Matt for singling our footballers. There are loads of industries where this is happening - people are overpaid and not working.

It should be up to the club to make those decisions and suggestions not him. I find it odd actually, perhaps envious?!!! Cheeky whichever way you look at it.

Privately lots of very highly paid footballers are donating considerable amounts, have a search for Jordan Henderson on twitter. There were rumors he had liaised with other premier league captains about setting up a fund and tonight am initiative had been announced. Danny Rose has also made a sizable donation to a hospital where he received treatment. Marcus Rashford arranged to feed tens of thousands of children eligible for free school meals. Just 3 examples, many more are probably happening behind the scenes.

I agree the clubs with billionaire owners should absolutely not place back room staff on furlough, but automatically reducing the wage of the very top earners in the premier league will substantially reduce the tax they pay.
We can only hope the very wealthy like the 3 mentioned above aren’t alone in helping out

It’s their salary. If they choose to donate a proportion of it, then great. Otherwise it’s money that they’ve earned and they have a right to do what they please with their own money.

Footballers are young working class men with limited education so they provide an easy, convient high-profile target. They are also PAYE employees who already pay enormous sums in taxes, unlike billionaire businessmen who shelter their assets in tax havens, eg Richard Branson, Philip Green.

Tory politicians won’t bite the hand that feeds them by calling for super-rich business people & bankers to take pay cuts, because they are the ones who bankroll the Tory party. They have also been very quiet on the subject of PLCs dishing out massive dividends to their shareholders while taking taxpayers money to pay their furloughed employees, eg EasyJet...

Not another thread today OP 🙄

Do you post about anything other than sport? We still haven’t clarified if you live with your mum and sisters or your wife and the cancelled sky?

BORING.

they have a right to do what they please with their own money

Kyle Walker says thank you!

Have a look at Players Together - that's Hendo's new fund and masses of PL footballers are taking part.

My best friends husband is a pro footballer and she is quietly fuming with Matt Hancock. As has been pointed out, these footballers pay extraordinary amounts of tax every month (more than my annual wage in fact) and quite often do so much behind the scenes for charities.
Also, he is still working! he has been working really hard training twice a day for hours at a time, still following a strict diet (while me and her have afternoon cocktail hour via Skype). He has no idea about the season, whether he is going to be called back to play three/four games a week to get it completed so that Sky don't demand all the money back from the clubs etc. Yes he earns huge amounts but it's a lot of stress too. How about the go after all the tax dodging companies? Or the upper class chums of the politicians rather than the working class lad done good

I don't think it's wrong to single out the clubs. Continuing extortionate edges for players while taking from the taxpayer for their lower earning staff. Totally immoral and an own goal - don't they have any PR people?

Good thing with football stopping is the pressure it's taken off policing. Personally I'd stop it permanently

Completely agree OP. I think it's highly unfair to target them as a group.

Never thought I’d agree with Wayne Rooney of all people but when he said

“If the government approached me to help support nurses financially or buy ventilators I’d be proud to do so, as long as I knew where the money was going. I’m in a position where I could give something up. Not every footballer is in the same position.

Yet suddenly the whole profession has been put on the spot with a demand for 30% pay cuts across the board. Why are footballers suddenly the scapegoats? How the past few days have played out is a disgrace.

He [Hancock] was supposed to be giving the nation the latest on the biggest crisis we’ve faced in our lifetimes. Why was the pay of footballers even in his head? Was he desperate to divert attention from his government’s handling of this pandemic?”

And I agree with PPs that footballers are young working class men and their class makes them a target for this kind of pressure.

Surely it’s a slippery slope as well?

I mean, I earn above the national average. As I’ve said before, I do donate and volunteer to charity, but could afford to do more. I have increased donations and volunteering as a response to this crisis.

If someone came along and demanded that I take a pay cut so that our lower wage staff could get paid; along with a snotty comment about how I’m an overpaid selfish cow who probably never does anything for charity; I’d be pretty miffed. I mean, yes maybe I could Take a temporary pay cut and tighten my belt, but mainly I’d be wondering why my employer wasn’t being targeted and asked to cut into their substantial profits to do so? Why the hell is the responsibility of my employer being transferred to me and I’m the one being publicly vilified for it? And who are they to say I don’t do enough for charity?