Tottenham Hotspur staff found out they were being forced to take 20 per cent pay cuts just half-an-hour before chairman Daniel Levy made the news public.

And Telegraph Sport can reveal that some of the non-playing employees have also been encouraged to take their annual leave during the coronavirus crisis.

Levy sent out an email to all of the club’s non-playing staff informing them of the 20 per cent pay cuts for April and May, and the decision to use the Government’s furlough scheme in some cases. He stressed the decision had been taken to try to save jobs in the long term.

The email, which landed at 10am on Tuesday morning ahead of the 10.30am announcement, did not raise the prospect of staff taking holiday allowance. But the suggestion has been made privately to some employees, even though they will be earning less and Government restrictions mean they cannot travel around the country or go abroad.

The timing of the move, which came only three weeks after the Premier League suspended the season, has sparked widespread criticism from inside and outside football.

It has also caused bad feelings among some members of staff, who were staggered that the decision on their reduction in wages was made before it is clear whether or not players’ salaries will be cut.

Some were outraged to find out Levy was paid £7million last year, £3m of which was a bonus for the new stadium that came in over the original budget and almost a year late, on the same day they were told their wages were being cut.

One source told Telegraph Sport: “How can the players still be on £100,000 a week? How can they still be taking 100 per cent of their wages while people on £30,000 a year are having to take cuts? It’s wrong.”

Another source said: “The whole thing is really uncomfortable. It puts such a big divide between the players and the rest of the staff.”