La Liga players set to strike after talks break down

The start of the La Liga season looks set to be postponed after talks between the Spanish football League and the players’ union failed to be resolved.

The Spanish professional footballers’ union (AFE) announced earlier this month that La Liga and Liga Adelante players will go on strike in the first two weekends of the 2011-12 campaign as they fight for a wage guarantee fund in case clubs become insolvent.

The players will not play until a collective bargaining agreement has been signed between the AFE and the individual clubs.

The Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) and AFE met on Wednesday in an attempt to find a solution and to call off the strike, but a resolution could not be reached, and the postponement of the weekend matches now edges ever closer.

“We haven’t reached any kind of agreement,” LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran was quoted as saying by EFE.

“AFE has dug its heels in. We have different opinions on important issues, but we will have to continue to try and move in the right direction.”

Talks between both parties will continue on Friday, but it seems unlikely that a solution will be found in time for the league to kick off as planned.