Logo of Premier League. /VCG
The Premier League said on Friday that its clubs will consult with their players over a proposed 30 percent reduction of their annual salary due to the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the suspended season would only resume when it was "safe and appropriate."
The English top flight's highly-paid stars have come under increasing pressure to take pay cuts from government officials in recent days after four clubs said they would use public money to subsidize pay for non-playing staff.
The league said its clubs "unanimously agreed to consult their players regarding a combination of conditional reductions and deferrals amounting to 30 percent of total annual remuneration."
The average salary for a Premier League player is £3 million a year, according to the latest Global Sports Salaries survey.
A general view of Elland Road, home of Leeds United Football Club in Leeds, UK, March 23, 2020. /VCG
Talks with the players' union, the PFA, will continue on Saturday, as the two sides seek an agreement on compensation during the stoppage.
With lower league clubs facing a cash-flow crisis due to the coronavirus outbreak, the top-flight teams voted to make an advance of 125 million pounds (153.13 million U.S. dollars) to the Football League (EFL) and National League sides. The EFL consists of 72 professional clubs in the three divisions below the Premier League.
The league also accepted that a previous target of returning to action in early May would not now happen and said on Friday it was keeping the resumption date under "constant review."
While there has been speculation about a reduced season or even abandoning this campaign, the league said the aim was still to complete all remaining domestic league and cup matches.
The clubs are desperate for the season to be finished if possible to avoid the potential of having to reimburse broadcasters a reported £760 million (942 million U.S. dollars) if they fail to fulfill fixtures for television contracts.
The official emblem of the FIFA soccer World Cup Qatar 2022 is displayed on the Opera of Algiers in Algeria, September 3, 2019. /VCG
Meanwhile, all international football matches scheduled for June were postponed on Friday following the first meeting of FIFA's coronavirus working group.
It was also decided to hold discussions with confederations to draw up a revised schedule for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers which have been shelved.
In the aftermath of the decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics by a year, the FIFA group proposed keeping the age eligibility rule of players born on or after January 1, 1997 and three additional players.
(With input from agencies)