PFA's 10-year deal worth £175m
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Your support makes all the difference.The Professional Footballers' Association will receive £175m of the game's television income over the next 10 years as part of the deal that averted the game's first strike, it was confirmed yesterday. The PFA called off its strike threat on Friday after announcing that it had reached a compromise with the Premier League, Football League and Football Association over its share of broadcasting revenues.
The union will have total discretion over how it spends the money. Its income will also be protected in the long term. For every one per-cent increase in television revenue in the future, the union will see an increase of 0.75 per cent in funding. For every one per cent fall, however, its share will drop only 0.5 per cent.
"We have an agreement on television strongly in place for 10 years," Gordon Taylor, the PFA chief executive, said. "The actual amounts have been identified as £17.5m per year. The deal in total is worth £175m. We will honour this agreement and we expect the leagues to honour all our other agreements.
"If they don't, we've seen the reaction the players will provide. They gave an indication of their strength and solidarity. They can be quiet and dormant until their backs are up.
"Today has been a day of celebration really and everyone is absolutely delighted. We have been able to protect the existence of the PFA and its future. I hope we have got our message through loud and clear for we know we had to fight hard to get this message across."
Aston Villa's Lee Hendrie has launched a scathing attack on the Leeds defender Danny Mills following Sunday's altercation at Elland Road. Hendrie accused Mills of trying to get him sent off during the highly-charged draw.
With Leeds down to 10 men following Alan Smith's dismissal, three minutes into the second half Hendrie shoved Mills in the face, with the Leeds right-back falling to the ground, but the referee Neale Barry only booked the midfielder.
The Villa manager John Gregory took Hendrie off because he felt the 24-year-old should have been dismissed. Mills then vented his fury at an assistant referee, leading to a booking for dissent.
"It's pathetic that he tried to get another player sent off, a fellow professional – it was unbelievable," Hendrie said. "But Danny Mills has got a reputation for it, and I don't agree with the way he has gone about things.
"Fellow pros should always look after each other. But it's no surprise he was booked later on as well. He's got too much to say when it comes to things like that and maybe he should keep his mouth shut."
Arsenal's Stuart Taylor will keep his place for tonight's Worthington Cup tie with Grimsby at Highbury and is likely to be in goal for his side's Champions' League game next week against Juventus. David Seaman has been out since September with a damaged shoulder, and sees a specialist today after returning to training last week. Richard Wright is also under treatment for a knee injury.
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