AS Roma players and coach Paulo Fonseca have agreed to go without pay for the rest of the season to help the club’s finances during the coronavirus pandemic, the Serie A outfit said on Sunday.
Roma last played on March 1, with football across Europe shut down due to the Covid-19 crisis. Italy was particularly affected by the virus, with over 23,000 people dying.
With no time frame as to when the Serie A season will restart, Roma players, coach Paulo Fonseco, and his coaching staff have agreed to forgo wages for March, April, May and June.
The players players will also top up the wages of other club employees who were placed on the Italian government’s social safety net scheme to ensure they received their regular monthly income.
Roma CEO Guido Fienga said: “We always talk about unity at Roma and in volunteering to cut their salaries for the rest of the season, the players, the coach, and his staff, have all proved that we really are in this together,” said Fienga.
The deal means the players, Fonseca and his coaching staff will give up their salaries for March, April, May and June, although Roma said that should the current campaign end up being completed “an incentive plan to be paid subject to the achievement of certain sporting objectives” had been agreed.
They had also agreed to “collectively pay the difference” to ensure that employees who have been placed on a partial unemployment scheme will receive their regular salary, the club added.
“(Captain) Edin Dzeko, all the players and Paulo have demonstrated they understand what this club stands for and we also thank them all for their superb gesture towards the employees at this club,” said CEO Guido Fienga.
Roma added that if the 2019/20 campaign resumes, then players and coaches have agreed an incentive-based payment plan if the club meets certain targets. Club management will also be taking salary cuts.
A letter from Roma’s players to the club read: “We are writing to express our support to the company for all that it is doing in this period to overcome the difficulties created by the Covid-19 emergency.
“We players are ready to start playing as soon as possible, giving the maximum to achieve our goals, but we also realise that all this will not be enough to face the economic consequences of the current emergency.
“With the hope of doing something that will help the company to better restart the Roma project that we all share, we offer this financial proposal.
“We also confirm all of our support for the initiatives of AS Roma and Roma Cares to help those who find themselves in difficulty because of the virus. Forza Roma!”
Italy has suffered more than 23,000 coronavirus deaths, second only to the United States, and all organised sport has been suspended since March 9.
The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has said that it wants the season to be finished come the end of Italy’s COVID-19 lockdown, currently scheduled for May 4.
Earlier this month, Serie A clubs unanimously agreed to cut the salaries of players, coaches and staff, with the exception of Juventus, who had already hammered out a deal with their own players.
Each club’s squad will have to agree to waive between two and four months’ salary.
