Gordon Taylor privately defends PFA record amid calls to stand down
Wednesday 21 November 2018 12:55, UK
Gordon Taylor is privately defending his record as Professional Footballers' Association chief executive amid calls for him to stand down, Sky Sports News understands.
Dion Dublin urged Taylor, 73, to step away in order to "freshen up" the organisation and more than 200 current and former players signed an open letter calling for his departure after 37 years at the helm.
Ben Purkiss, who was appointed PFA chairman in November 2017, has criticised the difference between Taylor's annual salary, £2.2m in 2017, and the £100,000 given to research on brain injuries suffered by professionals.
But Sky Sports News understands that Taylor is privately defending his record against some of the allegations, including the lack of investment in Dementia Research.
Taylor argues the players' union has been funding research into the disease since 2001 and not since 2017 as some reports suggest.
The PFA also pointed to the help they say they have given to former West Brom forward Jeff Astle, who died of a degenerative brain disease in 2002.
Astle's daughter, Dawn, set up The Jeff Astle Foundation to help dementia sufferers and their families, but has repeatedly clashed with Taylor over the years and has "begged" members of the PFA to support Purkiss' calls for him to go.
In defending his record, Taylor also said the PFA has been working on mental health issues for nearly two decades and heart screening since the 1990s.
