SuperSport CEO: No wage cuts for PSL players

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Apr 08, 2020. 13:00

SuperSport United chief executive officer Stan Matthews says he is against the idea of cutting wages for players in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League (PSL).

The PSL, like almost all major football leagues around the world, is currently suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In Europe, one of the major talking points has been the issue of players taking wage cuts to help their clubs continue to operate in the current circumstances, and inevitably the issue has also arisen in the PSL.

Irvin Khoza, the league’s chairman, has been unable to guarantee that clubs will continue receiving their monthly grants, pushing this issue to the fore.

However, Matthews insists that cutting players’ wages is not an option for now: “A salary cut in the PSL is a big no. Our players cannot afford that like Lionel Messi of Barcelona, or other big-name players in Europe,” he told Sun Sport.

“Our players’ budget is based on their salaries. There are players who earn big salaries, while others get a much lesser pay. They pay rates and taxes, school fees and buy groceries as most of them are breadwinners.

“If we cut their salaries, it will lead to a tremendous cash flow problem and increase the high level of borrowing cash from loan sharks and banks and this will bring huge stress to many households in the country.

“We have not discussed salary cuts. It’s the bridge that we don’t want to cross. We will tackle the situation if it deteriorates.

“Many players in those big European leagues earn big salaries while PSL players don’t earn that kind of money, which is enough for them to afford salary cuts.”