Spanish football suspended from May 16 as TV row escalates

The finale of the Spanish season could be disrupted after the country’s football federation said it intended to suspend all competitions over a dispute with government. The RFEF said it would “suspend competitions of all categories starting from 16 May indefinitely”. This would throw into doubt the penultimate round of La Liga fixtures, due to take place the following day. The wrangle involves a new law introduced to regulate the sale of television rights. If there is no resolution, the crucial title clash between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid on 17 May and the domestic cup final on 30 May could be among 30,000 games affected.

The initial assumption is that this move has been taken in an attempt to head off a players’ strike which had been threatened for that weekend.

Spanish football expert Andy West

At the moment, Spanish clubs can negotiate their own TV deals. But in an apparent attempt to end the stranglehold of Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Spanish government wants all clubs to negotiate collectively - just as they do in England’s Premier League. In another twist, the AFE players’ union has threatened to strike over being excluded from the negotiations. Barcelona star Lionel Messi (pictured) is backing the threat. "The AFE have met with us,“ he said. "The players are with them in what they say.”

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