Spanish strike edges closer - Football in top division comes to a halt

Posted Thursday, August 18, 2011 by skysports.com

Spanish strike edges closer - Football in top division comes to a halt
No Messi show this weekend: Football in Spain grinds to a halt

The start of La Liga in Spain is set to be delayed after negotiations between the Spanish Football League (LFP) and the country's players' union (AFE) to avert a strike broke down on Wednesday.

Representatives of the two organisations held a meeting in order to resolve the issue related to wage structure in Spanish football but failed to reach an agreement, meaning that this week's games in the top two divisions are not likely to go ahead as scheduled.

Earlier this month players in the Primera Division and Liga Adelante announced a strike in the opening two weekends of the 2011-12 season as they want a guaranteed fund to protect their wages should their clubs be pronounced insolvent.

However, a deal between the parties concerned has yet to materialise and the strike is set to be carried out.

"We haven't reached any kind of agreement," AFE president Jose Luis Astiazaran told reporters.

"The AFE have dug their heels in. There are important differences, but we will have to continue moving forward."

Talks between the LFP and the AFE will continue on Friday but it looks unlikely that they will come to an agreement before this weekend's round of matches in the first and second divisions of Spain.

Espanyol against Granada and Levante versus Real Zaragoza were the games slated to kick off the new campaign in La Liga on Saturday, with Real Madrid to host Athletic Bilbao and Barcelonato travel to Malaga on Sunday.