The Spanish women’s first division was set to begin a new era this weekend after a rebranding of the league and a new TV deal which should bring fresh investment. However the big kick-off is yet to actually happen, due to employment negotiations.
Referees are currently on strike over a pay and conditions dispute with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), as they demand that they are made professional too. This is the first time that the players have been made professional and the refereeing teams are asking that they be paid a fair wage too, as per Sport.
ℹ️ Tema de las árbitras de la Liga Profesional Femenina
La liga ofrece 3300€ por partido a cada trío arbitral de RFEF (el año pasado eran 2900€)
Las árbitras/RFEF piden 21000€ por partido, en sueldos + gastos
Clubes piden informe detallado de gastos y… “huelga”.
— José Manuel Amorós (@AmorosCuatro) September 10, 2022
A thread from Jose Manuel Amoros detailed that currently referees tend to make just €80-300 per game currently. Teams had offered to pay each refereeing team €3300 directly in order to get the games to go ahead this weekend and start negotiations on Monday, but the referees have held firm on their industrial action.
The RFEF is demanding that teams turn up and the games will not be called off until 15 minutes after kick-off time, should the referees not attend. Two matches have already been called off and they will continue to be so until a solution is found.
Certainly it reflects poorly on the organising authorities and will be a blow to the league itself, having geared up for a fast start this weekend.
