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Strike threatens La Liga opening rounds

Comment: 0 August 19th, 2011 by: admin

THE opening rounds of the La Liga are in danger of being cancelled due to labour conflict concerning players’ wages.

Spanish players have already called for a strike starting Friday if fresh talks to settle the dispute bog down.

The Association of Spanish Football Players (AFE) and Spanish league officials held talks recently but failed to reach an agreement. Now, the fate of the league depends on another crucial meeting on Saturday.

If nothing positive is achieved, Spain’s 42 first- and second- division squads will hold strikes until next Monday. It will be the first time in 27 years that the protest action will be called over a new collective bargaining agreement zeroing in on improved salary guarantees.

Among the fixtures to be delayed if the work stoppage is carried out are first-round games pitting hosts Real Madrid against Athletic Bilbao, and visiting three-time defending titlist Barcelona against Malaga.

Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who returned to his boyhood club last Monday, said the situation “is a bit weird’’, adding back in England where he played with Arsenal for eight years, everything is very strict and disciplined that such disruptions don’t normally happen.

Fabregas, who came in as a late substitute in Barca’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa last Wednesday, added the La Liga could learn from the English league where according to him, management is well organised and all they have to do is play football.

Players are demanding for better guarantees with clubs who owe up to 50 million euros (US$72 million) in unpaid wages to more than 200 players.

The league responded by creating a fund for players whose teams are under bankruptcy protection. Under the proposal, division 1 players would be guaranteed a minimum annual salary of 240,00 euros (US345,000), while division 2 players would get 120,000 euros (US$172,000).

But the players’ association thumbed it down.

They said that the fund to guarantee salaries is a system imposed by the league so that the teams can continue to take advantage of bankruptcy protection with complete impunity.

The players’ group also wants to end Spain’s bankruptcy law which allows insolvent clubs to renegotiate or delay paying player salaries, just like other outstanding debts, while under bankruptcy protection.

If the strike is held, the league would not start until September 10. There was no announcement by the league whether the games slated this week would then be played or if the calendar would be rescheduled.

The AFE has called three previous strikes since its inception in 1979. The last one happened in 1984.

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