The Spanish footballers association has stressed they will not back down, but the LFP has confirmed it has taken legal action to prevent the imminent strike
Luis Rubiales, president of the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE), insists the proposed strike in Spanish football will go ahead unless the new law regarding a centralised deal for television rights is amended.

The Spanish Football Association (RFEF) announced on Wednesday that it was to suspend all domestic competitions from May 16 due to a dispute with the government concerning a new law on how funds generated from television deals are distributed.

All competitions will be suspended before the penultimate round of La Liga matches this season due to the strike and AFE, which announced its support of the strike on Thursday, has stressed the organisations will not back down.

“The AFE has been completely excluded, against the orders of our parliament. The Professional Sports Subcommittee, which is represented by all political parties, ruled that a joint agreement was to be reached between all the parties involved, but the Government has not taken that into account,” Rubiales was quoted as saying by Marca.

“Europe has created a social dialogue through FIFPRO in which AFE is represented. The inclusion in that dialogue is important not only here, but trade unions should be represented in every country with their opinions and their votes.

“We haven't taken an over-forceful measure, but rather one of defence against the violation of our rights. What we want to transmit is that we're in favour of a collective sale and of increased income derived from positive synergies within football, but that we are not in favour of the outcome of this legislation which in no way takes our interests into account.”


Meanwhile, the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) has confirmed that it has taken legal action against RFEF and AFE’s decision to organise a strike.

“The LFP has taken the corresponding legal actions to the necessary judicial and administrative bodies, in defence of the rights and legitimate interests of the clubs, as well as the rights of the very professional competitions that it organises and that have been grossly affected by the aforementioned decision by the RFEF,” an official statement read.

“The decision taken by the RFEF is null and void by law, not just for formal reasons, as it was not included in the day-to-day activities of the Delegate Commission, but also for material reasons, given that the Sports Law and the current Coordination Agreement attributes the LFP the right to organise professional competitions and approve the sporting calendar of said competitions.
“For its part, the LFP has requested that the competent bodies reveal the names of those responsible in order to assess how many disciplinary actions may have to be taken, both in terms of the members of the Delegate Commission of the RFEF's General Assembly who participated in the adoption of this agreement and did not oppose it, as well as those individuals or groups who participated in its possible implementation.

“Additionally, the LFP expressly reserves the right to take legal action to claim for the serious damages as well as any financial, sporting, social or any other kind of harm that may arise from today's decision by the RFEF being hypothetically enacted upon, in the name of both the affiliated clubs as well as the professional football competitions in question.”
LFP president Javier Tebas added that he’s happy for La Liga to end in June if that’s what it comes to, before taking a dig at both RFEF and AFE.

“If La Liga has to end in June, then so be it. They are the ones who created this mess, so they will have to live with the consequences.
“There will not be any changes to the royal decree. There will not be negotiations with the AFE about it.
“This strike is against the law. The activities of others make me feel embarrassed.”