Serie A facing players' strike
Serie A is a facing a slate of fixture call-offs after it was revealed that, in two weeks, the league’s players are to go on strike in order to protest their rights over transfer deals.
This means that the fifth round of league fixtures will be postponed if a new contract between the Italian Players’ Association and Serie A, regarding their rights, cannot be guaranteed in time. Though there had been talks between the two parties to resolve this situation, an agreement was not reached. The league had proposed an agreement that would mean significant changes regarding how contracts are drawn up and transfers are carried out.
The proposals included a clause that would mean players would have to agree to the transfer to another club when he has a year left on his contract, as long as the new club is of equal competitive status and provides the player with comparable wages. If the player did not agree to the move, then players would have to reach a deal with their present employers.
The Players Association have rejected these proposals, and in a statement signed by the captains and union representatives of all 20 clubs, AC Milan’s Massimo Oddo read, “Serie A teams will not play. The AIC, in perfect agreement with clubs, have decided the teams will not play on September 25-26 because we are against the requests to introduce new contract regimes.”
Several of the league’s top players were present for the announcement of the strike, including Javier Zanetti, Gennaro Gattuso and Clarence Seedorf.
Serie A parted ways with the rest of the Italian league set-up at the start of this season, as the club owners looked to decide how their league should be run themselves, in a bid to boost its financial potential. The clubs have said they will present a new set of proposals to the players at the start of next week.
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