Players circulate petition calling for chief executive Gordon Taylor to stand down
A petition is being circulated among former players and members of the Professional Footballers’ Association calling for Gordon Taylor to stand down after 37 years as the organisation’s chief executive.
Ben Purkiss, the PFA chairman, has called for an independent review of the PFA, but is now fighting for his own future at the organisation after his eligibility to continue in the position was questioned. Purkiss is now a non-contract player at Walsall and the PFA have been advised that this means he cannot remain chairman. The suspicion is that Purkiss is being forced out and he believes both that he remains eligible and retains the management committee’s support.
It has all reignited scrutiny on Taylor’s reign as chief executive, especially in the context of last year’s £2.29 million pay packet, complaints that not enough is being done for former players and questions over the processes that have kept him in the same job since 1981. A letter, which has been seen by The Telegraph, is now being circulated among PFA members and is understood to already have more than 200 backers, including former England strikers Ian Wright and Chris Sutton.
“You may have seen that Ben Purkiss (PFA Chairman) has called for an independent review of the PFA,” says the letter. “We are backing his call and would like to also call for a fair and democratic election of a new PFA chief executive. Throughout our careers we have never had a vote and this has to change. The PFA needs to be open and accessible to all.
“Every player should know when and how to vote and the PFA must be run by people willing to be open, transparent and democratic. We call for Gordon Taylor to step down and allow the PFA to modernise and evolve.
“Please can you support this call for an independent review and democratic election by agreeing to add you name in support of these requests. The futures of all former current and former players depend on us having a fair, democratic and transparent union.” The letter concludes by asking for names to be added to a letter “which is gathering pace and numbers”.
The reaction will provide a potentially telling insight into the mood among players for change, with the issues surrounding both Purkiss and Taylor likely to come to a head at an annual general meeting that has been adjourned from Tuesday and is still to be rescheduled. The Telegraph has extensively reported the stories of families of former players living with dementia and their anger at the PFA’s response. The PFA say that it is committed to funding research into the issue.
Former Chelsea and England defender Graeme Le Saux described Taylor’s salary as “absolutely scandalous” earlier this year. It is rare, though, to hear existing players speak out and he is believed still to have the support of the organisation’s trustees. The PFA is largely dependent on the Premier League’s broadcast revenue and, when that share was threatened in 2001, Taylor balloted for a players’ strike and successfully retained his organisation’s income.
