Tottenham fans’ group send desperate plea to Daniel Levy over furlough decision

A Tottenham fans' group has called on chairman Daniel Levy to rethink the decision to furlough non-playing staff after Liverpool's U-turn on the controversy.

Fans and former players rounded on Spurs and Liverpool after the Premier League clubs announced plans to use the Government's job retention scheme to pay staff 80% of their wages amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Liverpool announced on Monday they would not be furloughing staff, having been heavily criticised by former Reds stars such as Jamie Carragher, Stan Collymore and Dietmar Hamann.

And now Tottenham Hotspur Supporters Trust has urged Levy to follow Liverpool's lead and avoid using the scheme to pay 550 non-playing employees.

The fans' group took to Twitter to tell Spurs to listen to their supporters and avoid damaging their reputation any further by using funds which were intended to help struggling businesses to support employees.

The club had been slammed by former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker, among others, over the plans.

"We have been saying consistently @SpursOfficial – pause and rethink," the Trust tweeted. "We are now saying it clearly and in public – do not further damage the Club’s reputation, listen to your fans."

Tottenham and Liverpool were among five Premier League clubs who were planning to use the furlough scheme, along with Newcastle United, Norwich City and Bournemouth.

The news attracted criticism as many fans and pundits felt that profitable Premier League clubs should not be using taxpayers' cash to pay staff 80% of their wages, while players continue to be paid in full by the clubs.

Levy had announced that all non-playing staff, including himself, would be taking a 20% pay cut during the affected period.

Liverpool, meanwhile, said they would furlough staff but pay the 20% shortfall so that workers continued to receive full pay.

But now the Reds – who in February announced pre-tax profits of £42million for 2018-19 – have decided against using furlough, stating the club will find "alternative means" to cover the cost of wages.

A statement from the club read: “Our intentions were, and still are, to ensure the entire workforce is given as much protection as possible from redundancy and/or loss of earnings during this unprecedented period.

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