Hearts players’ pay: Team set for SPL protest as patience runs out

Published on Wednesday 14 December 2011 00:08

HEARTS players will meet PFA Scotland representatives today with the intention of lodging a formal complaint with the Scottish Premier League if their wages have not been paid into their accounts on Friday.

Most of the Tynecastle first-team squad are still waiting for their November salaries and, with the December payment due on the 16th, a number of those affected have decided that they will raise a grievance if, as expected, the money does not materialise.

The move signifies a slight change in the players’ approach, as they had previously been wary of taking such action. Lacking faith in the SPL’s ability to make a telling difference in the ongoing saga, they feared that anyone who put their name to a complaint would incur the wrath of club owner Vladimir Romanov.

The squad came close to taking similar action in November but manager Paulo Sergio intervened and, on his advice, the players did not submit their complaint and eventually received their pay 19 days late.

The irate players now feel that they have little to lose, with the situation already serious, and that there is now little reason to refrain from taking action.

Several of them are looking to walk away from the club and their contracts and have set a deadline of 14 January, 90 days after the first non-payment. That would comply in with Fifa’s recommendation on such matters and would see the club lose out on any transfer fees.

Determined to keep to their contracts until then, the players have discussed and dismissed several options, including strike action, and say they will continue to train and play until the 90-day deadline.

But they do not wish to be seen as compliant and, while they doubt the muscle of the SPL, they feel that a formal complaint will at least strengthen their case should the matter go to Fifa or end up being contested in the courts. The next SPL executive meeting is scheduled for Monday and, if the players lodge their complaint on Friday, the matter would be on the agenda.

One player, who did not wish to be identified, said: “There are about five or six of us who have been willing to take this to the SPL for a while.

“But we want to do it as a majority and some of the other boys felt the time wasn’t right the first time and we want to go with the majority. But we are going to speak with the union again and I think we will be going ahead with the complaint if the wages aren’t in the bank on Friday. From speaking to people at the club we don’t expect them to be. Apparently the money isn’t there.

“More of the lads have come round to making the complaint and I think by now you are talking about double figures. We’re still not sure what good it will do and, judging by some of the comments from the SPL in the media, I’m not sure they can do much but at least we’ll have made the complaint formal and, if we can get to January 14, we can walk away. It’s not nice to think about going without wages until them but it will almost be worth it if it means we can get away.

“I don’t think we owe the club anything at all, although the fans have been great, but this means we have at least given the club and the league the chance to sort things out before it gets even worse and it means they have been fully warned that we are not going to just keep taking this month after month. We just want to be able to train, play football and still pay our bills. We are honouring our side of the contracts, it’s now up to the club, although no-one is holding their breath.

“We will just have to wait and see whether the money is there on Friday and if not we will all get to see what powers the SPL really have and what they can actually do to help protect their players and their league. We have receieved a lot of support and sympathy from players at other teams but now let’s see what the league do.”

Taken from the Scotsman