La Liga threatens strike over betting cash
Reuters - Thursday 03 February 2011, 18:29
MADRID - Spain's professional football league
(LFP) has threatened to call a strike if the government does not
agree to its demands for a share of betting revenue and
guarantee the money it gets from lottery earnings.
Spain's Socialist administration is preparing legislation on
betting and the LFP, which groups the nation's professional
clubs, said after a meeting in Madrid it was unhappy with the
draft proposals.
"If there is no agreement, a stoppage is a possibility and
at the moment nothing is ruled out," LFP secretary general
Carlos del Campo was quoted as saying in local media.
In a statement, the LFP said the draft law made no mention
of giving the organisers of competitions that attracted bets,
such as La Liga, a share of the cash the industry generated.
In addition, there was no guarantee that the system of
allocating a share of lottery revenue to football would be
maintained in its current form, the statement added.
The LFP is also unhappy with a rule in Spain that says one
La Liga match per weekend must be shown for free on television.