Designed to honour the careers of long-serving players, the matches can net more than £1m in the case of Premier League games and have historically been tax-exempt.
But from early 2017 - under a rule change published by the chancellor in his Spending Review this week - footballers, rugby players and cricketers will have to pay income tax on the money raised by such matches. "
Source: Osborne's tax swipe leaves top footballers out of pocket - Telegraph
