Wigan Athletic: Players to defer part of wages for three months amid coronavirus
- Published
Wigan were 20th in the Championship, two points above the drop zone, when the season was suspended
Wigan Athletic's first-team players and senior staff have agreed to defer part of their wages for three months amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A number of other staff at their DW Stadium, as well as workers for the Latics' community trust, have been placed on furlough leave.
BBC Radio Manchester reports that the deferral is understood to be 30%.
However, Peter Swann, chairman of League One Scunthorpe, believes wages should be suspended until games resume.
Championship club Wigan last played on 7 March, with professional football in England currently on indefinite hiatus.
"We thank the players and all staff for their support," executive chairman Darren Royle said.
"Our staff and players have come together to support the organisation and that emphasises the quality of people we have at Wigan Athletic.
"Our people are still going above and beyond to support our community, the NHS and local charities. I am so proud of everyone making such a significant contribution at this time."
The DW Stadium was last week used to support Wigan Infirmary's Covid-19 contingency ward, external, while members of the club's catering team have assisted operations at Manchester's drive-through coronavirus testing centre.
Wigan's announcement came two days after the English Football League and Professional Footballers' Association proposed that clubs defer up to 25% of players' wages in April because of the pandemic.
However, that agreement only applies to Leagues One and Two, with Championship clubs expected to make individual decisions.
And Swann believes more drastic action is needed.
""We sign players on contracts to play in the Football League and that is the job they do, play football in front of fans for a set number of games," he said in a letter released to the Press Association.
"They earn money on appearances, promotion, and relegation under those rules and I feel if the league is suspended then the players wages should be suspended until the resumption of full training and a resumption date confirmed."