EXCLUSIVE: Wigan players will NOT be paid their monthly wages today despite facing high-flying Brentford in vital Championship clash tomorrow as they look to stay up despite club plunging into administration
- Wigan players have been informed they will not receive their pay this month
- The club went into administration this week, blaming the coronavirus pandemic
- They could receive as little as 20 per cent of their salary when they are paid
- The Lactics are set to face Brentford on Saturday and face a battle to stay up
Wigan players have been sent an email informing them they will not be paid their wages on Friday following the club’s move into administration.
Players have been sent an email – which has been seen by Sportsmail – by the club’s human resources department informing them ‘the companies are unable to process payroll in time for tomorrow’s pay day’.
When and if players are actually paid, it is understood they could receive as little as 20 per cent of their monthly wage.
Wigan stars have been told they won’t be paid this month after club went into administration
The players could receive as little as 20 per cent of their salary when they are eventually paid
The communication sent to players states that a meeting is being held on Friday with the squad due to be updated in due course.
Wigan are due to face Brentford in the Championship on Saturday, but players are understandably aggrieved about not receiving pay.
News broke of Wigan being placed into administration on Wednesday following their 3-0 win over Stoke that boosted their survival hopes. But they have now been dealt a massive blow as they face a 12-point deduction in the Championship if they finish outside the bottom three.
If the Lactics are automatically sent down, the penalty will apply at the start of their League One campaign next season.
Ownership of the club has recently changed hands, with Next Leader Fund taking control from previous owners International Entertainment Corporation, a Hong Kong-based company
The Lactics famously overcame Manchester City to win their first FA Cup trophy in 2013
A joint statement from administrators Paul Stanley, Gerald Krasner and Dean Watson of Begbies Traynor said their focus was on finding interested parties to save Wigan.
‘Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures and to urgently find interested parties to save Wigan and the jobs of the people who work for the club.
‘When any club gets into this position, it is always grave. We now have to get all the information together.’
Wigan are facing a fight for their existance as administrators admit the situation is ‘grave’
Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013 and were Premier League mainstays for a number of seasons, but have dropped down to League One in recent years. Now they are fighting for their survival as a club.
Stanley told BBC Radio Manchester that the problems facing the club could be related to the coronavirus pandemic that has caused financial hardship for many EFL clubs after football was suspended in March.
‘The funding that was due to come in from the owners didn’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve had no contact with the owners and I don’t know why it didn’t come in. It might be coronavirus related.’
Former Leeds Utd chairman Gerald Krasner has been tasked with finding investment for Wigan
Krasner, meanwhile, warned the situation ‘could be as bad as Bury’, who were expelled from the Football League last year after descending into financial turmoil.
He said there was no prospect of owners, Next Leader Fund, putting ‘one penny’ in after only purchasing the club last month. International Entertainment Corporation, fronted by professional poker player Stanley Choi, sold their stake for £17.5million last month.
‘There will be a lot of incredible things that come out when we get into the paperwork,’ he said. ‘If we don’t solve it and sell it, yes, it is as bad as Bury. The ultimate sanction is liquidation.
‘I think four weeks (from takeover to administration) is a record which will stand for some time. I don’t think coronavirus helps. Whether that made the owner’s decision not to put money in, I don’t know.