Hearts move first as they tell players and staff to take 50% pay cut or leave the club
Hearts have asked their players to switch to half pay as the impact of the Coronavirus impacts on Scottish football.
Less than a week after Scottish fixtures were suspended Ann Budge has highlighted the state of the club’s finances by making the drastic move. Last May Hearts were sharing the gate receipts and prize money from playing Celtic in the final of the Scottish Cup.
Hearts are due to play in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup next month and have been in one final and two other semi-finals in the last 18 months. At the start of this seaon Steven Naismith signed a four year contract with the club.
The news from Tynecastle will cause alarm at every club in the country, despite no love being lost between both sets of supporters the Celtic board are bound to be concerned at the plight of what is usually one of the top six clubs in the country.
The Sun reports:
HEARTS players and staff have been asked to take a whopping 50% wage-cut in a desperate bid to save the club from financial meltdown.
SunSport can exclusively reveal Jambos owner Ann Budge has taken extraordinary cost-cutting steps with fears she cannot keep the cash-strapped club afloat during the Coronavirus outbreak.
The Jambos owner revealed earlier this week how the pandemic has already cost the Gorgie club £1million. Now Budge has written to all staff revealing her huge concerns that the global health crisis could lead to major job losses at Tynecastle.
She wants boss Daniel Stendel, his coaching staff and all the club’s players to accept the same wage drop as everyone else working for the club. Anyone who is NOT prepared to accept the new terms will be offered a pay deal to leave.
This development is the first that illustrates the crisis facing the game with the other SPFL clubs likely to be watching developments very closely.
The SPFL has rules safeguarding players contracts, terms and conditions but they could be set aside in the current circumstances.
Hearts went into administration in 2013 but agreed a CVA with creditors to avoid the humiliation of liquidation and the end of the club.
The Players union PFA (Scotland) are bound to get involved but are limited in what conditions they can impose.
With no chance of reaching the top six of the SPFL Hearts would be missing out on two or three lucrative post-split fixtures with both Celtic and Hibs scheduled to visit Tynecastle in the remaining weeks of the season.