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Charity Commission To Investigate Funding For PFA CEO's Salary

Gordon Taylor's annual salary exceeds £2M.GETTY IMAGES

The U.K. Charity Commission will question the Professional Footballers’ Association "after concerns were raised" about how CEO Gordon Taylor’s annual pay of more than £2M ($2.6M) was funded, according to Jeremy Wilson of the London TELEGRAPH. The investigation "is understood to focus on how the PFA General Fund charges the PFA Charity for expenses," and the suggestion that this then "provides sufficient income to cover salaries including Taylor’s hugely controversial pay packet." The PFA "has been embroiled in a civil war" since Chair Ben Purkiss publicly called for modernization, and Taylor "did on Wednesday finally agree to an independent review" of an organization he has led for the past 37 years. That is "expected to include funding arrangements" which the Charity Commission is "now set to look into." A Charity Commission spokesperson said, "We are aware of concerns regarding the expenditure of the Professional Footballers’ Association Charity and we will be engaging with the trustees to establish the facts. Trustees should be able to demonstrate that all decisions around expenditure have been carefully considered in line with the best interests of their charity and those it is set up to help." New accounts detailed staff costs of just over £4M ($5.1M) for a company listed as "PFA Charity." And yet, on page 18 and section 15 of the same accounts, it is stated that "the Charity does not have any employees and therefore no salaries or wages have been paid during the year." The TV income from the Premier League, which has totaled just under £52M ($67M) over the past two seasons, is listed as a "donation" in the PFA Charity accounts. It is understood the commission "is looking into whether the PFA Charity is effectively funding the salary of Taylor and whether this would be normal and appropriate" (TELEGRAPH, 11/21). The BBC's Roan & Nathanson reported when asked if Taylor's salary was paid, either directly or indirectly, via the charity fund, the PFA "declined to comment." More than 300 current and former players have "reportedly signed a letter calling for Taylor to resign." Taylor said that the organization had "listened" to criticism and had "taken the time to think carefully about what is in the best interests of our organisation and our members." He said, "I am extremely proud of the work we do, supporting our members, whether that's through training and coaching programmes, or promoting diversity and equality in the sport" (BBC, 11/21).

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