Sheffield Wednesday: Championship players could leave for free if 'forced' to take wage cuts

Negotiations around wage deferrals are ongoing between the PFA and a number of clubs including Sheffield Wednesday. It is not known what stage those negotiations have got to.

A 25 per cent pay cut was agreed by players of clubs in League One and League Two. Several clubs across the Championship have agreed deals with players and staff, including Brentford, Birmingham City and Leeds United. A mooted 30 per cent wage cut in the Premier League seems no closer to coming to fruition, though several clubs have agreed deals with their players.

An EFL statement released last week suggested negotiations with second-tier clubs would continue at a ‘local level’.

But clubs under increasing financial pressure to agree deals will have to tread carefully, according to reports in the i, which suggest players would be within their rights to walk away from clubs who impose cuts or deferrals.

They report that Fifa’s ‘Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players’ states, in article 14, that: “A contract may be terminated by either party without consequences of any kind (either payment of compensation or imposition of sporting sanctions) where there is just cause.

“Any abusive conduct of a party aiming at forcing the counter-party to terminate or change the terms of the contract shall entitle the counter-party (a player or a club) to terminate the contract with just cause.”