Southampton stars were chastised by players at other Premier League clubs for not informing them about the progress of their negotiations with the club over wage cuts.
These led to them becoming the first squad to accept a deferral last month. Players at all clubs had agreed to keep each other in the loop in a series of messages exchanged on WhatsApp, but Southampton’s acceptance of a 10 per cent deferral came out of the blue — which caused angst elsewhere.
Southampton’s PFA delegate Oriol Romeu bore the brunt of the unhappiness, but his relations with players at other clubs have since improved.
Sterling's £100m deal tension
Puma’s decision to offer Raheem Sterling an endorsement contract worth £100million has sparked internal tension at the sportswear company as they have furloughed staff and accepted government money in Germany, the base for their global HQ.
Sterling would become Puma’s highest paid footballer if he signs the deal when his existing contract with Nike expires at the end of next month.
The 25-year-old already has links with Puma — official kit supplier to Manchester City.
Premier League consider TV cameras in dressing rooms
The Premier League have indicated their intention to offer additional content and greater access to broadcasters to make up for the loss of matches during the shutdown by setting up an ‘Enhancing the Broadcast Product’ Club Advisory Group, who met for the first time last week.
The group held talks about a number of requests from the main domestic rightsholders Sky Sports and BT Sport, including placing cameras in the dressing rooms and conducting halftime interviews if the season resumes later this summer. The clubs will discuss their findings at their meeting on Monday.
Sky’s owners Comcast are thought to be particularly keen on the proposal for dressing-room cameras, as they have been commonplace in American sport for a number of years.
Clubs amused by Emirates Stadium's absence from neutral grounds list
The absence of the Emirates Stadium from the list of neutral grounds approved by the Government and police has been the source of much mirth at other top-flight clubs, as one of the concerns the authorities have raised is the prospect of crowds gathering at stadiums ahead of behind-closed-doors matches.
Arsenal fans have a reputation for staying away from games for which they have bought tickets in recent seasons — which has often led to thousands of empty seats.
So staff at other clubs have been joking that there would be little danger of an unauthorised mass gathering in north London if Mikel Arteta and his side were permitted to play at home.
'Operation Sabotage' in dock
The in-fighting in the Premier League over Project Restart has reached such levels of acrimony that executives at clubs who favour a prompt resumption have begun referring to those expressing doubts as ‘Operation Sabotage’.
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber and his Aston Villa counterpart Christian Purslow have gone public with their concerns about the use of neutral venues, which has gained them an element of respect from their rivals.
The most ire is reserved for those who have anonymously floated the idea of suspending relegation this season, which was not discussed at last week’s shareholders’ meeting.