Wednesday 25 March 2020 16:36, UK
The Professional Footballers' Association has called for urgent talks with the Premier League, the EFL and the Women's Super League over the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic on players and clubs.
The loss of match-day revenue due to the suspension of English professional football has hit clubs hard, particularly in the EFL, and raised the prospect of clubs asking players to accept wage deferrals.
On Wednesday, Birmingham City became the first Sky Bet Championship club to ask their players to take wage deferrals because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Squad members earning more than £6,000-a-week at St Andrew's have been asked to take a 50 per cent cut in their salary for the next four months, amid the coronavirus pandemic
The PFA has now urged all sides to talk in a bid to tackle the unprecedented crisis.
"The PFA has called for an urgent meeting with both the Premier League and English Football League to discuss the impact that the COVID-19 crisis is having on the finances of both clubs and players," a PFA statement read.
"As with other industries, the current COVID-19 crisis is having a severe impact on the finances of the game. Several clubs have already approached players with a view to imposing pay deferrals.
"In order to deal with this situation, we have called for an urgent meeting with both the Premier League and the EFL to discuss how we might proceed going forward.
"Separately, we have worked closely with the Premier League, EFL and WSL, agreeing on protocols in terms of training regimes and timetables for suspension of group training.
"We are also in regular discussions at international level regarding areas relating to contractual stability and the eventual resumption of the leagues.
"In these difficult times, there is a strong public consensus for football to be seen as acting in solidarity with other workers and industries affected by the crisis."
