Industry Shorts: Champions League, Pfa, ECB
UEFA has announced that the finals of the Champions League and Europa League have been suspended ‘until further notice’.
Following a video conference, the federation also said that it was taking the decision to call off the round of international matches which would have been played in June, after the finals of the club competitions.
Those fixtures would include the Euro 2020 play-offs as well as the scheduled warm-up matches for EURO 2020 itself – which will now take place a year later in 2021.
The PL, EFL and PFA held the start of a joint meeting to discuss a collective deferral of wages by football players during the coronavirus shutdown.
With football suspended, the leagues have been in talks with the PFA about salaries, however a joint statement confirmed that no decision has yet been reached, with talks “set to continue in the next 48 hours with a focus on several high-profile matters, including player wages and the resumption of the 2019/20 season.”
The ECB has announced measures to protect jobs within the organisation, including measures to consult with staff on reducing all employees’ salaries for two months.
Proposed cuts will vary according to the employee’s job grade, according to a statement from the organisation, ranging from 25% to 10%, while the ECB’s Executive Management Team and Board will receive a salary reduction of 20%. CEO Tom Harrison has volunteered a 25% reduction.
The ECB has also confirmed that some staff will be furloughed under the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, but with a commitment to supplement earnings to ensure workers receive 100% of their reduced salary, while the organisation has said it will freeze al recruitment in 2020 with only critical roles to be replaced when an employee leaves the business.
The news comes as the governing body for cricket in England and Wales announced a £61 million support package for all levels of cricket.
LaLiga has raised over €1 million for coronavirus relief with LaLiga Santander Fest.
The online festival, which included a host of Spanish music artists as well as representatives from each LaLiga club raised the money to buy medical supplies used to fight the coronavirus outbreak. In addition, partner Santander will donate a further one million masks as part of the initiative.
