After Rubiales, it’s now about money
Spanish footballers go on strike again
September 8, 2023, 12:14 p.m
Spanish football never rests. In the midst of the kissing scandal involving association boss Luis Rubiales, the footballers now want to go on strike on the first two league matchdays. It’s about money. It is not the first strike in Spanish women’s football.
In the fight for a better minimum salary, the footballers in the Spanish first division went on strike at the start of the season. After the negotiations failed, the strike will be carried out this weekend and next weekend as announced, the AFE union said. “We consider the F League’s latest offer to be unacceptable,” said the communiqué on Thursday evening.
The league did not back down from its offer of a minimum annual salary of 20,000 euros for the new season in the last discussions on Thursday, but they are demanding at least 23,000, AFE emphasized. This can be easily financed for the clubs in League F with guaranteed income of almost 100 million euros for the 2023/2024 season. So far, a minimum salary of 16,000 euros has applied since 2019.
It is not the first strike in Spanish women’s football. Over three and a half years ago, the players took a strike and got unions and clubs to sign a collective agreement for the first time in February 2020, which, among other things, provides for a minimum salary and maternity leave. The women in the national team are currently on strike in order to achieve the final removal of the controversial association boss, who has now been suspended for 90 days by the world association FIFA, following the kissing scandal surrounding Luis Rubiales.
Rubiales kissed player Jennifer Hermoso on the mouth at the award ceremony after Spain won the World Cup final in Sydney on August 20th. He asserts that it was done by mutual consent. However, Hermoso said she “felt the victim of an impulsive, sexist and inappropriate act that I did not consent to.” This week she filed a complaint against the 46-year-old with the judiciary.