According to the Athletic (subscription required), a senior Liverpool source believes that the club’s ‘hand was forced’ in regards to the furlough announcement made on Saturday afternoon.
The Athletic claim that the Reds think that details of their plans to handle the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic were leaked by another Premier League club.
Liverpool held discussions involving other Premier League sides regarding there plans due to Covid-19, with the club of the understanding that these talks were confidential.
The Athletic add that Liverpool initially planned to announce their decision to place some of their staff on furlough on Monday.
It’s reported that the government’s job retention scheme would’ve been used to cover the wages of about 200 of the club’s employees.
Furlough is the government’s job retention scheme that covers 80% (up to £2,500 a month) of the salaries of those whose work has been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Athletic’s James Pearce adds that Liverpool’s initial decision to use this scheme for around 200 workers would have seen the club claiming about £500,000 a month from the government.
After facing massive backlash for their choice, Liverpool backtracked on their initial decision, revealing in a statement on Monday that they’d find ‘alternative means’.
Liverpool chief executive Peter Moore added that the Reds ‘came to the wrong conclusion last week’.
It’s great to see that the Merseyside outfit have come to the right conclusion after being slammed for their controversial plans over the last couple of days.
As avid followers of the Premier League, we can all understand at this moment in time that member clubs enjoy massive riches for being in the top-flight, and that perhaps are there are much more essential organisations/businesses that require the government’s financial support during these challenging times.