As the coronavirus pandemic wreaks havoc on the sporting world, paychecks for those in the industry has emerged as a problem. During a video conference on Wednesday, all staff with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) agreed to take voluntary salary reductions in 2020, a gesture which demonstrates the body's unity during these challenging times.

The salary cut also applies to ITTF President Thomas Weikert.

On March 29, 2020, the ITTF announced the suspension of all international table tennis events until 30 June 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. They include the 2020 World Team Table Tennis Championships in Busan in late June as well as the 2020 ITTF World Tour events such as Hong Kong and China Opens in the middle of May.

Other than voluntary salary reductions from staff, the knock-on financial effect of an extended period of not hosting events has also led to the ITTF Executive Committee to reduce its expenses, while exploring ways to work with various governments to minimize the financial impact.

But not everyone is on the same page when it comes to voluntary pay cuts in challenging times.

Being the world's most profitable sports league, the Premier League hasn't yet reached an agreement on a pay cut across the board. Top flight clubs have used a furlough scheme for non-playing staff, but no cuts have so far been agreed for high-earning players – a move seen by many as "unethical."

"The purpose of the Coronavirus Job Retentions Scheme is not to support the economics of Premier League clubs," said head of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee in the British parliament, Julian Knight.

Jack Simpson of Bournemouth (L) battles with Mohamed Salah of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and AFC Bournemouth in Liverpool, UK, March 7, 2020. /VCG

"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.”

Over in Serie A, Juventus players and coach earlier agreed on a four-month pay reduction on their part to save the Italian champion 90 million euros.

This week, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi also confirmed that all players will take a 70 percent pay cut to ensure the club's other employees are paid in full.

"For our part, the time has come to announce that, as well as the reduction of 70 percent of our salary during the State of Alarm, we will also make contributions so the club's employees can collect 100 percent of their salary while this situation lasts," Messi wrote.

He added: "We want to clarify that our desire has always been to apply a drop in salary because we fully understand that this is an exceptional situation and we are the first ones who have always helped the club when asked."