LaLiga to take Spanish players union to court over 15 second strike

La Liga have announced plans to take the Spanish players union (AFE) to court, claiming last weekend’s coordinated player protests amounted to an “illegal strike”.

The Spanish top-flight league was rocked with controversies last week when players protested the league’s decision to host Villarreal-Barcelona match in Miami.

Players paused for the first 15 second of every game played during the week and after public outcry, La Liga was forced to cancel the proposed match.

Players stand on the pitch in a symbolic protest against the proposed relocation of the Villarreal-Barcelona match to Miami, at the start of the Spanish league football match between Villarreal CF and Real Betis (Photo by JOSE JORDAN/AFP via Getty Images)

However, latest report from Mundo Deportivo claim La Liga president Javier Tebas, the main driver of the proposed Miami match, informed AFE chief David Aganzo that players’ 15-second, standing still before kick-off protests, were a breach of labour law. Aganzo flatly rejects that idea, describing the gesture as a symbolic act against “a lack of transparency”.

“We simply made a gesture that had nothing to do with a strike,” Aganzo said after a tense meeting. “According to him, it will be resolved in court. He made it very clear that a court will decide.”

Aganzo maintains that the union’s grievance lies in being shut out of major decisions that directly affect players’ working conditions. “This meeting should have been held much earlier,” he said. “These projects require conversation with everyone, with maximum transparency.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of this spiralling controversy, Villarreal CEO Fernando Roig Negueroles launched a blistering attack on Real Madrid and Florentino Pérez, blaming them for the Miami plan’s demise. “Real Madrid seems to be going against everyone,” he told Radio Marca. “They lose legitimacy because they protest absolutely everything — even what they once approved.”