London: Southampton's first-team players and coaching staff have agreed to defer part of their salaries for April, May and June as the shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic continues.
In a statement on Thursday the Premier League club also said it would not be using the government's job retention scheme.
"The board of directors, the first-team manager, his coaching staff and the first-team squad have agreed to defer part of their salaries for the months of April, May and June to help protect the future of the club, the staff that work within it and the community we serve," the statement read.
The decision comes amid a row about whether Premier League players -- with an average salary of three million pounds ($3.7 million) -- should be forced to give up some of their salary to help the nation.
The English Premier League had earlier proposed a universal 30 per cent pay-cut for all players.
However, the Professional Footballers' Association said that would hit tax contributions to the NHS.
On Monday, Premier League players launched the #PlayersTogether initiative to generate and distribute funds to the NHS, the report said.
Southampton have also said they will not be using the government's furlough scheme during April, May and June and all staff not deferring their salaries will "continue to receive 100 per cent of their pay".
The Professional Footballers Association head Gordon Taylor has donated 500,000 pounds ($617,000) to the Premier League players fund for the National Health Service (NHS).
Liverpool have also reversed their decision to place some non-playing staff on temporary leave.
The Premier League giants last week had said they were going to apply to the government's taxpayer-funded job retention scheme.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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