Coronavirus Outbreak: England football coach Gareth Southgate agrees to 30% pay cut, World champions France send support to hospital workers

England coach Gareth Southgate has agreed to a 30% pay cut during the coronavirus outbreak. Southgate has a reported salary of 3 million pounds ($3.6 million) per year. [caption id=“attachment_7304831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Gareth Southgate. AP[/caption] English Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham says the organisation’s highest earners will take a temporary pay reduction of 30% and others in the senior management team have agreed to a 15% cut. Bullingham says the total financial impact on the FA is currently forecast to be around 100 million pounds ($120 million) because of the postponement of England internationals, FA Cup matches and other events at Wembley Stadium. He says the cost could rise to more than 150 million pounds ($180 million) depending on the length of the crisis. All FA employees earning 50,000 pounds ($60,000) or more per year will take a temporary pay reduction of 7.5% and the British government’s furlough scheme is being looked at as a contingency plan. Meanwhile, World Cup champion France has sent support to hospital workers. Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba were among the stars in a video released by the French football federation expressing their gratitude to the country’s under-pressure health workers.

France has been severely hit by the virus with more than 8,000 dead and about 100,000 known infections. Mbappe says “we sing and clap for you.”