Schalke under fire again after 20 drivers at the club have to go

Dusseldorf (dpa) – Bundesliga club Schalke have come under fire again off the pitch, over the sacking of 20 drivers for their youth players.

A club spokeswoman confirmed ahead of Sunday’s league match against Bayer Leverkusen that the contracts with the 20 were ended because the youth season and training was abandoned amid the coronavirus crisis.

All 20 were reportedly on 400-euros (450 dollars) mini-jobs at the club which is in deep financial trouble.

The spokeswoman dismissed that the drivers, some of them on the job for many years, had to go because of the club’s current financial situation, saying a decision was already reached early in the year to outsource the jobs.

Schalke works council chairwoman Martina Lenz named the measure “socially irresponsible” and criticism also came from the advsiser of Schalke goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel.

Without naming the club, adviser Stefan Backs said on his agency’s website he was annoyed that players were forgoing salaries to help other staff at their clubs because “they don’t want their money to be misused.

“On the other hand, it shows the huge pressure that those responsible at the clubs are exposed to. Going maximum financial risk to achieve the sporting goals. For that, the low-income earners have to bite the dust,” he said.

Last week, Schalke had to apologise to fans for asking them in a refund form why they wanted their money back for tickets for games now played behind closed doors owing to the pandemic.

The off-pitch issues add to the woes on the field of play where the team is winless in 12 games and dropping out of contention for a European berth.