Rooney feels players placed in ‘no-win situation’

LONDON: Wayne Rooney has criticised both the government and the English Premier League for placing the nation’s top footballers in a “no-win situation” over the issue of pay cuts, branding their interventions “a disgrace”.

The former England football captain, now playing in the Championship with Derby, penned an impassioned column in the Sunday Times in which he claimed his fellow professionals were being lined up as “easy targets” in the wider response to the coronavirus crisis.

Rooney made it clear he had both the means and the will to make significant financial contributions, either in the form of salary reductions or direct donations to the National Health Service, but felt the public pressure being exerted on players was unhelpful.

The Premier League’s suggested 30 per cent wage cut or deferral strategy was discussed in a conference call with the Professional Footballers’ Association and the League Managers Association on Saturday.