Walsall set to furlough footballers if PFA and EFL come to an agreement
Walsall are set to furlough their footballers if the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) come to an agreement with the EFL – as chairman Leigh Pomlett confirms the 'majority' of the club's staff have been put on the scheme.
With fixtures currently suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, clubs across all leagues are fighting to stay afloat with the inevitable financial implications.
Speaking on the 'When Sky Invented Football' podcast, Pomlett has confirmed that the majority of staff at the club have been put on the government furlough scheme, meaning they get 80 per cent of their wage while not working.
He also said that the club are working towards putting the players on furlough, but they must wait on the governing bodies to act.
"We're paying them (the staff and players) at the moment, as we would normally do," he said.
"Then you have the furloughing of a number of staff members at the football club, we have to wait for the cash to come from the government, which will probably be some weeks away to be honest.
"We've furloughed the majority of our staff and we have a skeleton staff still on.
"We have furloughed the players in the sense that they've all got letters.
"The PFA and the EFL have to reach an agreement before we really furlough the footballers
"The footballers have been very sensible to be honest and very helpful ringing fans, they've done a great job.
"Getting them furloughed is something the PFA have got involved in, the other staff at Walsall football club have just been furloughed and accepted that as a consequence of the coronavirus, and done that extremely sensibly.
"The football players is just a longer process because the PFA are involved and meetings are going on to try and resolve that.
"The PFA will need to accept the fact that footballers will have a reduction in wages for the duration of the coronavirus.
"That doesn't mean that whatever we don't pay them now, we'll pay them in the future.
"That will create cash flow problems for the business, everyone from chief executive down will be facing a reduction in their wages and the footballers should be no exception to that.
"They are going to have to take a hit because everyone else is and it's only right, proper and fair.
"Walsall won't go it alone at this, we're waiting for guidance off the EFL after conversations with the PFA, and then we'll take some action.
"It needs to happen reasonably quickly now."
