© EuroFootball.com
Italian Serie A's highest football players promise to start a mass protest after two weeks, which will result in the cancellation of scheduled matches. The reason for this is the desire to have a stronger voice when negotiating with clubs for player transfers.
The collective agreement between the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) and Serie A, ensuring athletes' rights, expired this summer, and new agreements have not been signed yet.
The news about the protest, which is planned for September 25-26, when the 5th round is scheduled, was announced on behalf of all 20 team captains and AIC by Milan defender Massimo Oddo.
The main point of contention is the clubs' desire to limit the players' ability to refuse to move to another team. Italian teams demand that when there is one year left until the end of a player's contract, he must move to a team of similar strength if it guarantees the same financial conditions and status within the team.
If the player still refuses to move, then he must extend his contract with his current club.
This is how Italian teams try to prevent cases where players become free agents after their contracts expire and leave without any transfer fee.
Club officials promise to present a new version of the collective agreement for consideration on Monday.
