Former Arsenal duo Alex Song and Johan Djourou have been released by Swiss side FC Sion after refusing to take a pay cut during the coronavirus outbreak.
As in many European countries, the Swiss Super League is currently suspended because of the pandemic.
According to Goal, the club’s president asked the entire playing staff to accept a reduced salary as part of a “technical unemployment” deal in order to help ease the financial burden brought about by a lack of matchday income.
Djourou and Song, who both had contracts due to last until June 30, were among nine players let go.
Swiss defender Djourou spent more than a decade at Arsenal after arriving as a teenager but never established himself as a first-team regular and left to join Hamburg in 2014.
Song, meanwhile, became a mainstay of the Gunners’ midfield under Arsene Wenger, playing alongside the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Jack Wilshere. However, he left for Barcelona in 2012 and struggled to recapture the same form, later returning to the Premier League on loan at West Ham.
The Swiss Players Union has issued a statement protesting the dismissals, calling them "abusive terminations".
