Liverpool believe the decision to furlough staff was leaked by league rivals
According to the Athletic (h/t Mirror), Liverpool believe that their plans to furlough around 200 non-playing staff were revealed by a Premier League rival.
The club’s decision to do so was met with widespread disdain. Even the club’s own fans rallied against the club to right what they believed was a grave mistake.
Much to the credit of the owners, they have once again shown their willingness to listen and admit when they have got it wrong. Following the backlash, the club has reversed its decision to make use of the government scheme to pay the staff. It would have seen taxpayers’ cash made use of to pay 80 percent of employees’ wages while the club made up the remaining 20 percent.
The voices against the Reds were loud considering the club made a pre-tax profit of £42million for 2018-19. It has now emerged that the details of the club’s confidential plans were leaked after discussions between Premier League sides. (h/t Mirror)
Liverpool had intended to wait until Monday to announce their plans, prior to which, every affected employee would have been contacted by letter.
The report also claims that owners FSG had not anticipated that their plans to use the government scheme would be met with such fury.
Chief executive Peter Moore issued an apology on Monday and admitted that the club were wrong to make the call. The Reds have since reversed their decision to make use of the government scheme. (h/t Liverpoolfc.com)
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Whether there really was a leak and if yes, then who was it remains to be seen. The Reds did indeed make the wrong call the first time. They have, however, shown the ability to not hold onto an indefensible position and have ultimately shown that it is never late to do the right thing.
