Former Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion boss has earned himself a 100,000 euros bonus for keeping his current side ADO Den Haag, in the top flight of Dutch football, the Eredivisie. That is despite the fact that the club from the Hague seemed odds-on to be relegated when the Dutch league season was suspended in early March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
The Englishman took charge of the club on Christmas Eve last year, with Den Haag struggling at the time near the foot of the table. His remit was to keep them in the league, and, to incentivise him, he was promised a 100,000 bonus for doing so.
Until early March he had not been doing a very good job of it. When play was halted the club were seven points off safety, with just eight games left to play, and only RKC Waalwijk below them in the table.
However, all that changed on Friday when the Dutch football federation (the KNVB) decided to cancel the Dutch league following a government decision to extend the ban on mass gatherings and sporting events in the Netherlands until September 1st.
Controversially, not only did they decide that no side would be declared champions, but they also ruled that there would be no relegation either, reprieving both Den Haag and Waalwijk. That has resulted in mounting fury in the Netherlands, with SC Cambuur, the club who were clear leaders of the Eerste Divisie the second tier of Dutch football threatening legal action having been denied promotion to the elite league.
However, the decision also meant that Pardew was entitled to his bonus, for having kept his side in the league, something that the club had indicated that they were prepared to honour.
The news led to some pundits and commentators calling for Pardew to hand it back because he had not earned it, but, sensing a public relations disaster in the making, Pardew has acted quickly before the criticism could get a head of stream.
He has contacted the club and asked them either to give the money instead to non-playing staff whose jobs and livelihoods are on the line because of the impact on the pandemic on the finances of football in the country, or to the Dutch health service in its bid to fight the pandemic.
