Cagliari players give up month's salary to avoid team layoffs

Italian top-flight club Cagliari announced on Monday that their first-team squad have agreed to forego their salaries for the month of April.

Club president Tommaso Giulini thanked the players "for their sensitivity in wanting to contribute to protecting the club in a particularly complicated and difficult to predict period".

"As also requested by the signatories of the document, this transaction will contribute to a drastic reduction in layoffs of club employees," the Sardinian club added.

Players at Serie A teams including Juventus, Roma and Parma have already agreed to cut salaries in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed nearly 31 000 in Italy.

No football has been played in Italy for over two months, but team training is expected to resume on 18 May.