Russian parliament members have suggested a stipulation under which the national football squad's coach's salary will be tied to the squad's performance. The idea was triggered by their unhappiness with Fabio Capello, the world's highest paid national football team coach.
Ironically, the news came amidst media reports that Capello was close to leaving his job due to wage arrears amounting to almost five months.
The suggestion came from Dmitry Svishchev, deputy head of the sports committee at Russia's State Duma, the lower chamber of Parliament.
"All coaches think they are equally great, regardless of whether they are rank-and-file, working with children, or heading one of the world's best squads," Svishchev was quoted as saying by the Russian daily Izvestiya. "So, it would be only good if they were offered a salary tied to their squad's performance."
He explained that only part of the national squad's coach's salary would be determined by the squad's performance as otherwise it would be hard to get a top-level coach for the job.
According to Russian media reports, Capello's annual salary is €9M ($11.3M), but he has not been paid for several months and is close to stepping down unless the arrears are cleared.
Several months ago, the Russian parliament came up with a proposal for a cap on the Premier League footballers' salaries, but a final decision has not been made yet.
Vladimir Kozlov is a writer in Moscow.
