Spanish women’s league postponed amid referees’ strike

MADRID: MATCHES in the Spanish women’s football league, playing for the first time as professionals, were suspended on Saturday due to a referees’ strike.

Atletico Madrid announced on social media that their opening match against Real Sociedad “cannot start due to the non-appearance of the refereeing team”.

The referees, who work for the Spanish Football Federation( rfef ), are demanding professional status and payment in line with the men’s Liga.

“We referees want to provide the best possible service to football, and this necessarily involves obtaining working conditions close to those of the men’s first division,” the referees said in a statement.

Friday evening, the new Professional Women’s Football League (LPFF) said they would “not accept blackmail” and all women’s teams would be on the pitch for their matches. “In the event that the referees and their assistants do not go to their appointments, the LPFF will file a complaint so that the corresponding sanctions are adopted,” it added.

The clubs insist that they have already sent a proposal to increase the remuneration of referees, but have not received any response.

They are asking for improved wages, saying that the €320 ($322) referees make and the €160 ($161) assistants make for each match is not enough.

“We want to get back on the field, but under the appropriate conditions,’’ their statement read.

The league added that if the referees did not show up for work they would face “legal and disciplinary action.’’

The spat comes days at er assistant referee mart a Hueta became the first Spanish woman to work a men’s Champions League match: Napoli’s 4-1 win over Liverpool on Wednesday. Barcelona, the 2021 Champions League winner, have won the Spanish league for the past three seasons.

Meanwhile, the spanish league is set to announce a new joint venture to expand its reach in the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent on Tuesday, continuing its push to grow internationally and narrow the gap to the Premier League. The deal is expected to generate 3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) in revenue and will be similar to what the league did with entertainment group rel event sports to help promote soccer and the league in North America, a source close to the agreement told The Associated Press.