© EuroFootball.com
The season of the two highest Spanish football leagues will start at least a week later than planned, as the players confirmed that they will not cancel the strike.
The first matches were supposed to be held this weekend, but last-minute negotiations about their timing ended in failure.
"Both sides have stated their positions at the table, but an agreement is very far-fetched," said Jose Luis Astiazaran, the head of the Professional Football League (LFP). "Now we will make every effort to ensure that this does not happen again next week."
Players' representatives who do not agree with the LFP claim that they will not step onto the field until their demanded point about payment conditions in case the club faces financial problems is included in the new collective agreement.
They aim to create a special fund to cover debts. Currently, the top two leagues owe around 50 million euros to a couple of hundred footballers in total. Furthermore, they want teams that do not meet their obligations to be penalized with relegation to a lower division.
Meanwhile, the league would like national team call-ups for players to be considered as vacations, and there is also disagreement about who should own a player's commercial rights.
It is said that the first strike in Spain since 1984 could last at least two rounds.
