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More directors and PL bosses taking pay cuts

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Graham Potter puts his hands up for a pay cut

The BBC reports Brighton’s chief executive, technical director and head coach Graham Potter have all taken a pay cut for the next three months.

And former England captain Gary Lineker predicts that many Premier League players will now follow suit.

Clubs have been criticised by British politicians for furloughing non-playing staff while paying players in full.

MP Julian Knight has called for the Chancellor to impose a “windfall tax” on clubs that refuse to cut players’ salaries while furloughing staff.

In a letter to Chancellor Rishi Sunak on Thursday, Knight, who is chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, suggested a deadline of 7 April for clubs to take action or be sanctioned.

“If the Premier League isn’t going to act to resolve this crisis then the government must step in by imposing a significant financial penalty on clubs to reimburse those hit hardest in the pocket,” said Knight.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe became the first Premier League boss to take a voluntary pay cut during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.

Brighton chief executive Paul Barber said: “It is entirely appropriate that we play a very small part in reducing the financial burden.”

Barber, technical director Dan Ashworth and head coach Graham Potter have each taken a “significant” voluntary pay cut but no decision has been taken on whether to furlough any of the club’s staff.

“We have seen our income literally disappear overnight,” added Barber.

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Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!"

Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon