Rome, Apr 20 (IANS): Italian football club AS Roma's players have volunteered to have a salary cut this season amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"The club's players, first-team coach Paulo Fonseca, and his staff, have volunteered to forgo four months' salary this season to help the club navigate the economic crisis that has engulfed the world of football since the Coronavirus outbreak," the club said in a statement.
"The players, coach and his coaching staff have also agreed to collectively pay the difference to ensure that all Roma employees who were placed on the government's social safety net scheme will still receive their regular net salary," the statement added.
AS Roma CEO Guido Fienga termed the decision taken by the players, the coach and the coach's staff as a 'superb gesture'.
"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," Fienga said said.
"(Club 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," he added.
Roma last played a competitive match on March 1, with all games across Europe being shut down shortly after, as governments attempted to limit the spread of the COVID-19, which has now claimed over 160,000 lives globally, with over 1.5 million more people still infected.
No country in Europe has been harder hit by the coronavirus than Italy, with over 23,000 people dead, and with the postponement of Serie A due to enter a third month, Roma's players and coach approached the club's hierarchy to volunteer to forgo their salary during this season for the months of March, April, May and June.
The club further said that if the current season resumes and is completed, the club and the players, coach and his staff have agreed an incentive plan to be paid subject to the achievement of certain sporting objectives.