DUBAI: Football clubs in the UAE given the go signal to temporarily cut, up to a maximum 40 percent, the monthly salaries of their players and coaches due to the shortened professional tournament season. The proposal to reduce the monthly wages of players, provided they shall not be less than Dh15,000 after the deductions, was announced by Mohamed Abdullah Hazzam Al-Dhaheri, the Secretary-General of the UAE Football Association, during a virtual board meeting presided by Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi, who is the group’s chairman. The salaries of players and coaches in the First Division league, the second tier of the Emirati football after the UAE Pro League – also known as the Arabian Gulf League, are also affected with clubs also allowed to deduct a maximum of 40 percent provided the adjusted wages were not lower than Dh10,000. The football association likewise extended all player contracts and moved transfer windows to allow the season on hold due to coronavirus to be completed. This allows players’ expiring contracts to be extended beyond the end of June, in conformity with FIFA’s new guidelines, a report from state news agency WAM said. Transfer deals due to be completed this summer will be delayed until the next season actually does start, it added. The health comes first and foremost and that the safety of players and community members is always the most important, Al-Nuaimi said during the meeting, where they also decided to hold a follow-up meeting to elaborate the association’s decisions to club representatives.