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PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has no plans to cut £2m-a-year salary

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor has confirmed that he will not be sacrificing any of his £2 million-a-year salary, as the dispute over footballers' wages at the highest level continues to rumble on.

A number of top clubs across England have come under scrutiny in recent weeks for their financial policies amid the coronavirus outbreak, which has seen the 2019-20 season postponed indefinitely.

Newcastle, Tottenham, Bournemouth and Norwich  have all announced plans to furlough some members of staff, and Liverpool drew widespread criticism after following suit on Saturday.

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The Reds have since performed a U-turn on their initial decision after a backlash from supporters and former players, and have cancelled their application to the government's taxpayer-funded job retention scheme.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged top-flight stars to "do their part" and take pay cuts during a daily briefing to the general public last week, with the Premier League proposing a 30% reduction.

Taylor described Hancock's comments as "astonishing", and expressed his belief that it is unreasonable to ask players to sacrifice their earnings without knowing where their money will be sent.

The PFA has been in talks with league representatives over possible concessions, but Taylor is refusing to alter his stance when it comes to staff payments.

When asked if he would consider taking a pay cut, the PFA chief told The Guardian: "The PFA will make donations and the PFA is involved in the players’ charity. At the moment the PFA position is that we will continue to be paying all our staff of over 60 in full.”

Taylor also explained that the PFA will only consider sanctioning pay cuts if clubs reveal the full details of their current financial situation.

He added: “What [the players] are saying is that it needs every club in its own locality to work things out for themselves – you can’t have one suit fitting all sizes because there is such a variance in income and expenditure.

“It needs to be round the table with all the facts revealed and then I can assure you that players will come to a position that is mindful about keeping their club alive and in good health as well as their jobs alive.”

With the Covid-19 crisis likely to drag on for some time yet, Manchester United and Burnley have announced that they will continue to pay all staff in full, and no wages will be cut despite the fact revenues are likely to drop significantly.

Meanwhile, West Ham boss David Moyes has become the third Premier League manager to accept a 30% pay cut, taking the same decision as Bournemouth head coach Eddie Howe and Brighton's Graham Potter.

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