ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Zakho SC has cut its players' and staff salaries by 15 percent after the team’s “poor results,” the club’s president said Monday, amid a string of disappointing performances.

Out of the last nine matches, Zakho has won only one, lost five, and tied four games, sitting in 15th place in Iraq’s top-flight Stars League, a sharp decline in form compared to last season, when it came in ninth in the league and was the runner-up of Iraq’s FA Cup, and the season before that when it secured third place in the league.

“Because of these poor results, we have found it necessary to give the players and coaches a 15 percent salary cut,” Chia Amin, president of Zakho SC, told The New Region. “Any player who is unhappy about staying, the club's door is open and he can leave Zakho's ranks.”

Amin remained optimistic about the future, asking fans to continue supporting the club as 75 percent of the league still lies ahead.

Founded in 1987, Zakho SC is a professional football team based in the northern town of Zakho in the Kurdistan Region's Duhok province.

In December last year, Zakho SC fans made history after receiving the prestigious FIFA Fan Award, in recognition of the humanitarian spirit and passion of its supporters after they threw thousands of stuffed animals onto the pitch ahead of a match, all of which were donated to children suffering from cancer.

The team is set to go up against Erbil SC, which sits at fifth place in Iraq’s Stars League. Erbil has also given its players and personnel a 20 percent pay cut in response to a poor run of form, following a 1-0 loss to Mosul SC on Sunday, the team said in a statement.

“After a careful evaluation and review of the reasons for the loss and the noticeable decline in the team's technical level, it was decided to deduct 20 percent from the October salaries of the coaching staff and all players of our club's first football team,” read the statement from Erbil SC.

Erbil SC has lost two of its last four matches and drawn one, only winning its fixture against Karbala. Prior to the Karbala game, the team went on a nine-match unbeaten run where it won seven games and drew only two.