Scunthorpe chairman Peter Swann has called for a cut or deferral in player wages of at least 50 per cent to cover the losses caused by the suspension of professional football in England.
In a 730-word statement on the club's website, Swann took aim at governing bodies, writing: 'It's embarrassing regarding the silence of the PFA in all of this.''
Clubs in the Premier League and the English Football League have placed non-playing staff on furlough, as they look to take advantage of the Government's job retention scheme set up to protect jobs affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
When an employee is placed on furlough they are temporarily put on a leave of absence and not paid, although they remain on the payroll, meaning that they do not lose their job.
This could be because there is no work for these employees, in the case of football, no matches to staff or manage, or that the company is not able to afford to pay them, because of the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
In the United Kingdom, the Government is offering to pay 80 per cent of a furloughed employee's wages, up to £2,500 per month, until they are able to resume their job full time. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will last for at least three months from March 1.
The Professional Footballers' Association is meeting with the leagues on Wednesday to discuss the issue of wage deferrals, but Swann says action is needed immediately.
'Hopefully in the coming days those key meetings will provide us with a direction and more certainty,'' he said in a statement posted on the League Two club's official website.
'We need a positive cut or deferral in players' wages of at least 50 per cent until football returns in its entirety and although the furloughing system helps, it's not going to save clubs.
'If a cut or deferral was applied to all players above the minimum wage it would give us a chance to get through the remainder of this season and have a solid foundation for the coming season, whenever that would begin.'