LFP president José Luis Astiazarán on Wednesday declared that little progress had been made in talks with the union, which is calling for greater protection of players’ wages at clubs that have gone into administration. "We haven't reached any kind of agreement,” said Astiazarán, in quotes reported by Reuters. “The AFE have dug their heels in. There are important differences, but we will have to continue moving forward."
However, in a strongly worded statement the LFP added: "This strike is absolutely unjustified but is also sterile, because the LFP has gone as far as it is able to." The AFE last week called strike action for the first two weekends of the top two divisions in Spain. The union claimed Eur12 million was owed to approximately 100 players last year, with this increasing to Eur50 million and 200 players by the end of the 2010-11 season.
The AFE’s Luis Gil said: "The league doesn't want to bridge the gap. The biggest problem is that the players want guarantees they are going to get paid because there are more than 200 who are owed money. At present the AFE are not considering extending the strike action beyond the second round of matches. We want the law applied so that clubs who do not pay should be relegated."
The Spanish league season is set to commence on Friday evening with a Segunda Division game between Villarreal B and Hercules. The LFP and AFE have revealed that further talks are set for Friday morning at League headquarters.
