Match of the Day host Gary Lineker will donate two months' worth of his £1.75million salary to the British Red Cross amid the coronavirus.
The England striker-turned-TV-host pledged the cash – almost £300,000 – as MPs urged top-flight clubs to slash the pay of top-earning stars who trouser millions of pounds a year.
The Premier League has been suspended until at least April 30 and there is mounting anger at clubs which continue to pay players their full wages while cutting salaries of non-playing staff.
The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to slap clubs with a windfall tax if they refused to act by next Tuesday.
Top-flight clubs came under mounting pressure following Lineker's pledge.
The presenter, 59, tweeted: “Decided to donate a couple of months’ salary to @BritishRedCross who are doing vital work for those most vulnerable during the Coronavirus crisis.
“Feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this.
“If you’d like to join in, it’d be greatly appreciated.”
Commons Culture Committee chairman, Conservative MP Julian Knight, urged the Chancellor to sanction any Premier League club that continues to pursue what was described as a “two-tier system” for salaries after next Tuesday.
Mr Knight said: “We are facing an obscene situation where top players who aren’t working are continuing to see hundreds of thousands of pounds roll in each week while the staff who keep the clubs going are losing wages.
“If the Premier League isn’t going to act to resolve this crisis then the Government must step in by imposing a significant financial penalty on clubs to reimburse those hit hardest in the pocket.
“That’s why I have written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak today demanding that Premier League clubs do the right thing by Tuesday next week or face the consequences.”
