By David Gold
August 11 – Players in Spain have announced that they will go on strike for the opening two rounds of fixtures in La Liga and the Segunda Liga, Luis Rubiales, the President of the Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE), has confirmed.
The AFE has been pressing for a fund to be introduced to protect player wages in case of insolvency, a prescient issue with six La Liga teams currently in administration – Racing Santander, Real Zaragoza, Real Mallorca, Real Betis, Rayo Vallecano and Granada.
Earlier this year, in January, Third Division Pontevedra’s players sank to their knees and refused to play the first minute of a match against Lugo because they had not been paid in five months.
Though an extreme case, it is an increasing problem in Spain as football teams in the country post spiralling debts.
Last week Rubiales had told Radio Marca: “We do not see how a league that is growing in income by eight to 10 per cent each year has a fund that has more restrictions than in earlier agreements.”
A meeting was convened of the AFE on Monday (August 8) at which it was decided to go on strike, and Rubiales was flanked by a number of high-profile Spanish players, including Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol and Xabi Alonso, when he made the announcement at a press conference this afternoon.
“We are unanimous and firm in our decision to call a strike,” Rubiales said.
“The league will not start until a new agreement [between the league and the players] has been signed.”
Spain’s league, which was due to kick-off on August 20, may not be the only one affected by early season strikes, with Serie A plagued by a continuing threat of a strike over a collective agreement with their players.
Serie A players have threatened to go on strike if their dispute is not resolved by the start of the Italian season at the end of the month.
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