With the world struggling to get the coronavirus pandemic under control, you would think sport is one of the last things on people’s minds.

But despite a lack of competition (professional or otherwise), sporting news is still dominating the headlines around the world.

In the Victorian spotlight were the negotiations between the AFL and the Players Association about how much of a pay cut the players should take – since there’s no footy for the foreseeable future.

Players Association president Patrick Dangerfield says the concept of quarantined ‘hubs’ is looking more appealing as an option to restart the stalled 2020 season.

The Geelong superstar originally wasn’t a fan of the plan to split 18 teams into three groups, isolated by state to prevent COVID-19 infections.

Media figures like Caroline Wilson and Leigh Matthews had come out and called the players selfish for refusing a cut of more than 50%, with the AFL asking players to take a cut of up to 75%.

The main reason for this pay cut is that, much like every other industry, the AFL is going to take a huge financial hit over the next few months and clubs have had to lay off most of their staff just to keep their heads above water.

North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein told SEN that the players are trying their best to reach a solution that suits all parties.

The Player’s Association are definitely fighting a losing battle when it comes to the public’s view of this whole situation, especially since the players are pretty much going to be paid to sit at home and try to maintain their current fitness levels.

But its position hasn’t been helped by the likes of Jack Riewoldt and Tom Rockliff making some questionable statements to the media.

Riewoldt said that the players proved their selflessness by playing in the bushfire relief game – a quote which has made a lot of fans pretty angry with a number of people saying that that should have been seen as a privilege rather than a chore for the lucky players to participate in the game.

Rockliff said that players shouldn’t have to take a big pay cut because some of them have to keep making repayments on investment properties, at a time when thousands of people are losing their jobs every day as a result of this pandemic.

With all that being said, Goldstein has defended the stance the Players Association has taken, saying the issue is actually more complicated than it looks.

Since this interview an agreement has been made that the players will take a 50% cut until May 31^st, and if the competition still isn’t running then, that will bump up to 70% after that date.

It seems like a solution where neither party is really happy with the outcome, but it’s good that we can hopefully put it all behind us.

To be honest I can’t wait until the main thing we have to focus on in footy is the results of all the weekend’s games, rather than the state of the players hip pockets, but unfortunately that’s just the world we live in at the moment.