The English Football League plans to negotiate a cost-saving solution with the players’ union after being forced to abandon its controversial salary cap in League One and League Two.
An independent arbitration panel ruled the cap must be withdrawn after the Professional Footballers’ Association argued it was “unlawful and unenforceable”. Clubs voted in August to implement caps, set at £1.5m in League Two and £2.5m in League One, but will revert to rules that link player-related expenditure to turnover, under which Bury went bust. Clubs will meet on Thursday and the agreed squad limits remain in place.
Clubs understand the PFA’s reluctance to adopt a “hard” salary cap but believe there is an urgent need for restrictive measures during the coronavirus crisis. “Some clubs really are on the brink,” said one League One chairman. “We are at a crucial point. Having some sort of salary cost management and control was a way of alleviating pressure somewhat.”
The PFA argued the EFL “rushed through” the caps without “proper consideration or consultation”. The EFL is understood to have sought legal advice detailing it did not need to consult the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee. The panel ruled the EFL breached the PFNCC’s constitution, which states: “No major changes to the regulations of the leagues affecting a player’s terms and conditions of employment shall take place without full discussion and agreement in the PFNCC.”
One route towards reinstating a salary cap could arise if the EFL were to serve notice and withdraw from the PFNCC.
Bigger clubs in League One and League Two were largely against the cap, uneasy with a one-size-fits-all approach. “The whole point of this process was to make clubs self-sustainable,” said the Portsmouth chief executive, Mark Catlin. “A blunt tool of a hammer as a salary cap doesn’t achieve that because you’re going to limit some clubs in what they can spend, unfairly, but still allow clubs with smaller budgets and income to be able to match those clubs.”
The owner of Forest Green Rovers, Dale Vince, said he was shocked at the ruling but played down its immediate impact. “We will have had a full season with the cap, in effect, which I think will be good for us. No fans and the impact of the pandemic has had a big effect. But the transfer window is shut now, so nobody can go and do anything.”
The PFA said it recognised the need for sustainability and the economic impact of Covid. “It is now in the best interest of the leagues, the clubs, and the players to work together and agree on rules that promote financial stability,” it said.