Still no agreement reached on referee pay for Liga F after new round of meetings

Following the press release by the referees yesterday (read about it here), another meeting was scheduled between the RFEF and LPFF at the Las Rozas today in order to resolve the referee ‘strike’ and successfully commence the domestic season.

The increasing feeling yesterday towards the end of the day seemed to be that involved parties may soon find a middle ground despite there big a considerable gap between the demands of both parties.

The meeting between the RFEF and the LPFF began on the wrong foot again today. Presidents of both RFEF and LPFF were absent from the proceedings.

Miguel María García Caba, vice president of the RFEF, Yolanda Parga, head of the female arbitration of the CTA and Pablo Vílches, CEO of Liga F, were the main figures attending the meet.

The issue remained unresolved at the end of the meeting with no significant developments.

Pablo Vílches, CEO of Liga F came out and said the following after the meeting:

There has been no agreement. We thought that yesterday there had been an approach, but no. The ‘NO’ has been resounding.

Yolanda Parga, the head of the female arbitration of the CTA, put forward the concerns of the referees:

Yesterday, at 9:00 p.m., I had a meeting with the referees and they felt undervalued and very disappointed. They could become more flexible, but always with a decent minimum.

Yolanda Parga also confirmed that the referees will not appear in any of the two Copa De La Reina matches with teams from the Liga F, reaffirming Marta Huerta’s words from yesterday.

With no agreement reached yet, and if nothing changes, the Real Unión Tenerife - Levante Las Planas de la Copa De La Reina would be suspended.

What’s next?

The CSD (Spain’s governmental council for sport) has summoned the LPFF and the RFEF to another meeting this afternoon at 5:00 p.m. CET. There still seems to be a big gap between the terms of both the sides and if this continues, matchday 2 might be in jeopardy as well.

UPDATE

Both parties remain far apart following the afternoon meeting. There is no agreement.

Beatriz Álvarez, president of the F League, had to leave prior to the meeting in order to catch a plane. She still managed to say a few things to the press, noting that she was “not optimistic that matchday 2 [could] be played this weekend.”

The latest offer on the table comes from the CSD:

• Head referees: increase from €300 to €1,666 per match (€25,000 per year).
• Assistant referees: increase from €168 to €1,066 per match (€16,000 per year).
• Fourth referees: increase from €84 to €250 per match.

The figures in the first bullet are still well below the €50,000 per year that was requested for the head referees. At the moment, it does not seem like this will be enough to satisfy the CTA and the RFEF, although Liga F has given the proposal the green light.

Everyone involved will have to further consider the proposition and reconvene at a later date to obtain a resolution.

The 2nd matchday for Liga F is only four days away.

UPDATE

The RFEF is considering going to the Ministry of Equality to resolve the issue.