“We want to have decent conditions. We’re talking about a pro league where we all have to be pros,” the group says
The referees are keeping the pulse in favor of decent working conditions, in keeping with the professional status the top tier of Spanish women’s football is debuting this season. The group, which has paralyzed the domestic championship in defense of its rights, explained this Monday at the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas the reasons leading to the decision to establish an indefinite hiatus, they announced that it will also extend to the Copa de la Reina as long as the situation is not resolved and they have excluded negotiations with the F League outside the Federation, the body to which they belong and which they consider to be the only valid interlocutor in the conflict.
“Our independence is the most sacred thing we have. We do not take orders from anyone. It is a disrespect that the LPFF accuses us of manipulation, we are not puppets. We have chosen our own representatives for the negotiations. Our home is the Federation,” influences the statement of the arbitration group that Marta Huerta de Aza read in the Villalonga Hall of the Las Rozas Football City.
The referee from Palencia, accompanied by her colleagues Guadalupe Porras Ayuso and Marta Frías Acedo, as well as Yolanda Parga, head of female arbitration for the FEF, assured that they are not immersed in any kind of war, but rather that they are only defending their rights . “We have not paralyzed women’s football. We look forward to leaving. We claim some rights because if you get sick you don’t get paid. If we don’t whistle here, we don’t get paid. We’re not claiming something economic, but everything a contract entails,” argued Huerta de Aza, who thanked the messages of support they’ve received since the conflict broke out and accused the F League of coercing them with the threat of sanctions. “Do you think we’re going to sit down to negotiate with someone who’s suing us and threatening us all week? I don’t know if the president (Beatriz Álvarez) is clear about the law, but we are a body of the FEF,” the colleague emphasized.
The referees’ statement clarifies the reasons why they waited until the start of the season to raise their voices. “Because now? Because we have a professional league and we are the only establishment that isn’t. We want to thank the clubs that supported us. We also worked very hard to participate in this competition, but we couldn’t do in these conditions ”, explains the message in the Ciudad del Fútbol de Las Rozas.
There, the group, with the support of their first and second classmates, explained that there were two meetings with the LPFF, the first on June 27, before deciding to take a strong measure and demand respect from this body. “The umpires are not puppets,” said Yolanda Parga, who complained about the number of e-mails with proposals for complaints to the collegiate members they have received from the LPFF in recent hours.
“If we don’t referee, we don’t get paid. If we get injured it’s us, we have to pay the physio. And the nutritionist, the physical trainer or whatever we need,” said Marta Frías, Extremadura by birth but belonging to the Aragon Referee Commission who has built a 15-year career with the flute without having mentioned a single day for that job.
The group stressed that they have carried over several approaches to the F League until the Friday before the championship start date, and have all been rejected. His latest proposal was for a salary of €48,333 a year, barely a third of what his colleagues in the Second Men’s Division receive, but the clubs only put on the table the €3,300 he paid last season. “What we’re asking is one-sixth of what’s charged to the first male professional, which is 300,000, one-third of the second, which is 145,000. We are not just claiming something economic, but everything that a contract entails,” said Guadalupe Porras. “I know the F League has offered 3,300 and if I have to pay for what I have every time I travel from Tenerife, I’ll have to do the math,” said Huerta de Aza.
Source: La Verdad
I’m an experienced news author and editor based in New York City. I specialize in covering healthcare news stories for Today Times Live, helping to keep readers informed on the latest developments related to the industry. I have a deep understanding of medical topics, including emerging treatments and drugs, the changing laws that regulate healthcare providers, and other matters that affect public health.
