League Two side Oldham face a player REVOLT after they are given ultimatum to accept pay cuts worth up to 65% or be made redundant

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Oldham players have been left fuming after being effectively told to accept pay cuts worth up to 65 per cent or be made redundant.

Owner Abdallah Lemsagam is facing a player revolt following the attempt to back the Latics squad into a corner with the ultimatum.

Members of Dino Maamria's squad have been left stunned after being told the club want to furlough their players due to the impact of the coronavirus for the next few months, using the Government Job Retention Scheme so they receive 80 per cent of their money but have no intention of contributing to their salaries by topping up their wages so they are paid in full.

Oldham players have been told to accept pay cuts worth up to 65% or be made redundant

Sources have told Sportsmail that the only alternative offered to the players is they are made redundant.

With the government scheme capped at £2,500-per-month some at Boundary Park would see their money fall by as much as two-thirds if they sign up to Dubai-based Lemsagam's proposal – leaving them in severe financial peril.

Oldham's players received details of the proposal via an email sent from managing director Natalie Atkinson.

A handful of members – believed to be those close to the Oldham's owner – have accepted the offer.

But the majority have rejected it out of hand, knowing that no other club in the division has put their players in the same no-win situation.

Oldham's League Two rivals who have furloughed players are topping up their salaries or, at worst, have deferred portions of their wages until a later date. 

Owner Abdallah Lemsagam (right) is now facing a player revolt following his ultimatum

Oldham's proposal would see their players being forced to give up money they will never see again.

Latics players who have so far stood their ground are willing to accept being furloughed to help the club but also want their salaries topped up so they remain in line with the rest of the division.

And their determination to hold out has been strengthened by claims that they are already chasing previously unpaid wages.

The sense of helplessness felt among Oldham's squad has been compounded by advice from the PFA to accept the club's offer as it is preferable to finding themselves out of work.

Though a planned video conference to discuss the matter on Wednesday afternoon is understood to have been cancelled following intervention from the PFA.

Members of the squad have been left stunned following the attempt to back them into a corner

Oldham failed to respond to request from Sportsmail for comment, but later released a statement.

It read: 'The Oldham Athletic players will be paid their full March salaries, but with income vastly reduced and no dates for resumption of football, we must limit our outgoings. In order to safeguard the future of the club, we have therefore had to take the very difficult decision of furloughing our playing staff.

'All players have been spoken to individually and as a group to explain the reasoning and how we'll work with them on the resumption of football to return to normality as quickly as possible. Players can decide whether to accept the furlough and should they do so, they'll receive the full level of Government support and their contracts will remain in place.

'In the unfortunate instance that furlough is rejected, normal employment practice decrees that they are placed at risk of redundancy. We must stress that this is a last resort and we are continuing discussions with all players and their agents to avoid this outcome for any player.'