The start of the Serie A season today will be delayed by a players’ strike, Italian players association president Damiano Tommasi announced yesterday.
All 20 Serie A captains signed a document this month threatening a strike if a new collective contract was not signed before the season, and weeks of negotiations produced no resolution.
“We tried right up until the end, but all the attempts were in vain,” Tommasi said, issuing his strike proclamation just as clubs were due to begin traveling to matches.
The main conflicts are over two clauses the clubs want — one that would allow them to force unwanted players to train away from the first team and another that would make players pay a new government solidarity tax that applies to high-wage earners.
Under the government’s new austerity package, citizens face a 5 percent additional tax on income above €90,000 ($128,250) and a 10 percent additional tax on income above €150,000 ($213,750).
With a break for international matches over the weekend of Sept. 3-4, the strike could delay the start of the season until Sept. 10-11 — or beyond.
“The possibility of an all-out strike is a problem. There is still a risk for the next matches,” said football federation president Giancarlo Abete, adding that the situation is “incomprehensible considering the problems at the centre of the matter.
“One thing is for certain: We need to do what they did in Spain and limit the protest to just one round,” Abete said. “We’ve got to work toward a solution right away.”
If the Italian strike lasts only a round or two, missed matches will likely be made up at a later date.
Still, cabinet undersecretary and sports delegate Rocco Crimi said the public will see it as “the most unusual strike” in Italy’s history, adding that both sides need to calm down, lower their voices and work toward a deal.
The only other players’ strike in Serie A history was in March 1996.
The conflict between the players and the league has been ongoing since the last collective contract expired in June 2010.
The players set two strike dates during the first half of last season, both of which were avoided with last-minute verbal agreements.
The clubs voted 18-2 on Wednesday to reject the players’ proposal, with only Siena and Cagliari voting in favor of the players’ version.
Tommasi offered earlier Friday for the league to sign a temporary contract until June 2012 — without the two additional clauses the clubs want — saying that otherwise “it could take months, not 15 days” to resolve the conflict.
However, the league quickly rejected Tommasi’s proposal.
The strike will likely cost players a week’s worth of salary, which comes out to an average of €23,650 ($34,000) per player, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport. AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the highest paid player in the league at €9 million ($13 million) per season, stands to lose €304,600 ($440,000).