The European champions announced on Saturday that it will be taking advantage of the government’s job retention scheme which will see the tax payers’ money used to cover up to 80 percent of non-playing staff’s salary.
The move drew irate criticism from a number of former players including Jamie Carragher, Danny Murphy and Dietmar Hamann, especially after the club posted pre-tax profits of £42m just six weeks ago.
Vocal supporters’ union, Spirit of Shankly, demanded an explanation from the club for the controversial decision.
Part of a letter written to the fans by CEO Peter Moore indicated that club have reversed their original decision and issued an apology.
It read: “A range of possible scenarios were considered, including but not restricted to: applying to the coronavirus job retention scheme which pays 80% of salary and guaranteeing the 20% payment; applying to the coronavirus job retention scheme with a guarantee to reimburse monies received at a later date and, thirdly, finding an alternative means to cover our furlough costs.
“It is as a direct result of this extensive consultation and our own internal deliberations at various levels throughout the club that we have opted to find alternative means despite our eligibility to apply for the coronavirus job retention scheme. We believe we came to the wrong conclusion last week to announce that we intended to apply to the coronavirus retention scheme and furlough staff due to the suspension of the Premier League football calendar, and are truly sorry for that.”
