La Liga clubs oppose planned strike
Reuters - Wednesday 23 March 2011, 20:36
MADRID - Six of Spain's top-flight clubs
have broken ranks and filed a legal challenge aimed at stopping
the professional football league (LFP) from postponing a round of
matches next month over a dispute with the government.
The LFP wants Spain's Socialist administration to scrap a
rule that one La Liga game per matchday should be shown on free
television, arguing the move would strengthen clubs' bargaining
power in negotiations on audiovisual rights with media firms.
It also wants guarantees about how much cash it is entitled
to receive from betting and lottery revenue.
The league, which represents first and second division
clubs, has the backing of the Spanish football federation (RFEF)
but six of 20 clubs in the first division - Sevilla,
Villarreal, Athletic Bilbao, Espanyol, Real Zaragoza and Real
Sociedad - filed a legal challenge in a Madrid court on
Wednesday in an attempt to block the postponement.
The six oppose the LFP because they believe a strike would
be "disproportionate, innoportune, against the interest of
clubs, the competition and supporters and, what's more, against
the law," Sevilla said on their website.
"It's not the right moment, politically speaking, to make
these demands and, what's more, it should not be the fans who
pay the price," Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido was quoted
as saying in local media.
DIALOGUE BEST
On the weekend under threat, April 2/3, Sevilla are due to
host Zaragoza, while La Liga leaders Barcelona play at
Villarreal and second-placed Real Madrid host Sporting Gijon.
The LFP said on Tuesday the latest talks between league
officials, the government and parliamentary groups had failed to
produce any progress and it stood by its decision to strike.
The league has said the free game will not necessarily be
dropped but it wants the obligation to show it to be removed.
An LFP spokesman said on Wednesday it respected the position
of each of its members but would stick to the decision taken at
a meeting last month to postpone games unless the government
backs down.
Jaime Lissavetzky, secretary of state for sport, appealed
for "common sense" and noted a television media law had been
voted through a year ago without any of the political groups
raising objections.
Speaking at an event in Madrid on Wednesday, he indicated he
was "ready to listen and talk" to try to resolve the dispute.
Villarreal president Fernando Roig expressed support for the
league's bid to get the free TV rule lifted but said a strike
was the wrong way to go about it, especially at a time when the
Spanish economy was struggling.
"It is not a good thing given what this country is going
through at the moment for management to go on strike," Roig said
on the club's website.
"I agree that the best way forward is through dialogue," he
added. "I do not agree that the right path is a postponement."
According to Sevilla and Villarreal, if the April 2/3 games
are postponed, they would be played on June 11/12, three weeks
after the scheduled end of the season.
"If that happens I believe the final weeks of the league
will be an authentic disaster," Roig said. "It seems to me a
monstrosity and something that would cause a great deal of
damage to the competition."