Pawel Olkowski becomes first Bolton player to hand in notice after pay strike

Pawel Olkowski has handed in his notice which could see the defender leave for free just after the season ends after an ongoing issue involving the Bolton Wanderers players still not being paid.

It has been well documented that his team Bolton have had and still do have money issues which have caused many problems. This includes the cancellation of this weekend’s fixture with Brentford, due to the players not being paid as they refuse to play.

As documented Laurence Bassini has an agreement with the Championship side that he would pay the players and staff while paperwork was being processed by the English Football League. However, according to the club’s website Mr Bassini hasn’t fulfiled his agreement.

The players for Wanderers have now gone almost four weeks without pay. It is also unknown whether they will get paid for this month’s wage, which is due for Tuesday.

Due to the lack of information and confusion surrounding the club, full-back Olkowski has handed in his notice which means he will work for 14 days before being allowed to leave.

It is not known whether any other players have done the same as of yet but if an agreement is agreed with the players then the former Koln man may stay, though nothing will be known officially until this situation comes to a close.

Speaking to The Bolton News this source said:

“He is happy to wait and is understanding of the club’s problems. It’s just that there is no information what the plan is, and no credible information about when people will be paid.

“He doesn’t even know who the owner is that the moment.”

Phil Parkinson who is the manager of the recently relegated Wanderers spoke about the difficulting of this situation with foreign players. This is due to the problems with relaying information due to the language barrier.

The player’s contract is set to expire next summer after signing from 1. FC Köln last summer. Since that time the defender has played 39 times and has been one of the shining lights in a difficult season, on and off the pitch.

While the future of the club and player is still not known. Olkowski who played his last game for the team back on 9th April when they lost 2-0 to Middlesbrough, could have played his last for the Championship side.

Bolton Wanderers have been told by the EFL board that they have to play their final two matches of the season against Brentford and Nottingham Forest. They’ve also been charged with misconduct and been referred to an independent disciplinary commission due to the Brentford fixture being postponed.