BARNET made all non-playing staff redundant today as the club dealt with the fallout of the coronavirus, causing the owner to slam the government for its unclear decision-making.

With all leagues suspended for the foreseeable future, club owner Tony Kleanthous said that the non-league side “could see what was coming” and he apologised to those he had to let go.

“My head is spinning with it, to be honest,” Kleanthous told the Guardian. “I believe in doing these very difficult things properly and have had personal meetings with all the staff across the club and group to put them on notice.

“It has been really hard, a tough few days, since Friday [when the Premier League, EFL and Women’s Super League suspended their matches] and we could see what was coming. Apart from the players who are under contract, everybody who works here is under notice.

“Footballers are protected in the game, but my sympathies in this crisis lie with the cleaners, the receptionists, the marketing guys straight out of college, the match-day stewards who will lose their money which keeps them going in the week. These are the people nobody thinks of.”

With many teams outside the top flight in a precarious position financially, Kleanthous called on the Premier League to dig into their pockets and help those not in the top flight.

“I’m not looking for a handout from the Premier League, but they have a duty to football. They have enjoyed their billions for many years, so maybe for one year they need to say they are not spending their money on massive players’ wages and are stepping in for football itself. What form that takes, I leave up to them.”

The former Football League and FA board member wasn’t done there, attacking the government for its indecisiveness, leaving Britain in limbo.

“We still need a clear government instruction,” he said. “I also feel that a clear decision should have been taken now by the leagues and FA to end the season so that we have certainty, rather than kicking the can down the road.

“As it does not seem possible to play the remaining matches behind closed doors, we could complete the final league tables by calculating the rest of the matches on an average points so far over the season. Then we have some certainty, rather than being in limbo like this.”

Also today, Uefa announced the postponement of the Euro 2020 tournament until next summer.

A statement confirmed the postponement, with the dates of June 11 to July 11 2021 proposed.

The official announcement from European football’s governing body also confirmed that the Euro 2020 play-offs, due to be played later this month, will now be played in the June 2020 international break.

The 2020 Copa America would also move to 2021 to enable South American players based in Europe the opportunity to finish their league campaigns.

The statement did not confirm new dates for the Champions League and Europa League finals, with June 27 and June 24 having been reported.

There was also no confirmation at this stage as to whether the Women’s Euro 2021 would be moved as a result of the men’s tournament being postponed.

Instead the statement said that decisions on dates for other Uefa competitions would be taken “in due course.”

The statement also hinted at some kind of compromise concerning the 2021 Club World Cup, with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin saying: “I would like to thank Fifa and its president, Gianni Infantino, who has indicated it will do whatever is required to make this new calendar work.

“In the face of this crisis, football has shown its best side with openness, solidarity and tolerance.”

Euro 2020 was scheduled to start on June 12, hosted by 12 countries from Ireland to Azerbaijan, and Russia to Italy. A one-year postponement became Uefa’s favoured option last week. It would clear several weeks in the congested calendar to complete domestic league and cup competitions, plus the Champions League and Europa League.

Still, it is far from clear when the public-health crisis could ease enough for European football to emerge from its near-total shutdown.

The freeze on games has put broadcasting deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds on hold and could lead to the 2019-20 season being annulled in some competitions.

Uefa’s first call was with leaders of the European Club Association and European Leagues groups, plus the Fifpro players’ union.

Completing domestic league seasons would allow titles to be awarded and decide entries for the next Champions League and Europa League. The first qualifying games are already scheduled for late June.

If resuming the season is possible, Uefa’s options to complete this season include playing Champions and Europa quarter-finals and semi-finals as single games instead of over two legs.