This Thursday there was the second meeting of the week between LaLiga and AFE to continue analyzing and agreeing on the measures that the clubs are going to adopt, and that are going to affect the soccer players, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. On the part of the employers, who have been much more active in this event, Javier Tebas and Luis Gil have participated again, while on the part of the union, with one more figure of listener, David Aganzo and Diego have been present at the videoconference Rivas. As AS has learned, there has been good attunement on several key issues like the ERTE, the possible drop in wages and the plan to restart the competition (end yes or yes) and to reorganize the next one. It is clear that the options for the 2019-20 academic year to extend beyond June 30 increase. Therefore, The possibility of playing at Christmas and in the Premier is already being considered so that the dates match. This is one of the options that LaLiga has commented and that AFE will carefully study.
LaLiga and AFE have also debated for an hour and a half about the forecasts that both have regarding the clubs that will benefit from the temporary employment regulation files. AFE, according to the data it manages, does not believe that at the moment they occur in more than a dozen of the 42 professional clubs, which reassures him. However, LaLiga considers that with the passing of the days, and especially if the competition does not resume soon, there will be more clubs than the union estimates that will join the ERTE, among them historical and leading clubs. The term, for the moment, is until April 11, when the national confinement ends in principle. The employers will have more specific data from next Monday, which is when Thebes will meet with the Division Boards, first with the First and later, at 12:30 with the Second. At the moment, LaLiga and AFE can only wait for events. What the union has recalled is that it will be very vigilant that possible irregularities are committed. In his opinion, the force majeure of which the Royal Decree issued after the State of Alarm speaks is not easy to justify in a club with such high budgets and benefits.
Another issue that was put on the table revolved around the sacrifices that footballers would have to make in order to guarantee the economic viability of the clubs when this crisis wanes. More or less, the plans of the clubs, in general, which go through negotiating (and not imposing) a linear salary decrease, are always known, always in the monthly salaries that are affected and not in the two extra payments, which is where the bulk of the tab is distributed, neither in the premiums or the image rights. AFE insisted that this descent will come, because the footballers have already made clear their solidarity with this serious situation, But they have also made clear the difficulty of having the same percentage for all footballers and that the best thing is to wait for how events unfold and then calculate the adjustments, and not the other way around.
There is also talk in these meetings, which will continue happening, of the holidays, which the footballers have agreed to partially sacrifice or reduce as long as there is time to make a good preseason, and the fact that you have to play every few days in case this campaign can end. The next season, 2020-21, will be affected by the delay in finishing this one (it would have to be shortened with the Playoff, make a kind of Opening or similar formulas), if it is possible. LaLiga recalled that there are different scenarios, more and less optimistic and more or less tight, in which they will fight to ensure that the different television slots are also respected, in order to continue making the most of the product, and that it will ensure the health of the player as always done. AFE has already recognized that footballers are willing to make an extra effort but made it clear, as always, that all medical recommendations will be respected that, although they are not fixed by regulation, mark in 72 hours the rest that must be between game and game. In addition, absolute respect to the schedules is agreed in the event of having to play from May 20 to September 15, with summer in between, It is the time when there is a greater respect for the hot hours when it is recommended not to play before 19:30 or to do it in strips with more than 30 degrees. Here the RFEF will also have a lot to say.
Joint statement from LaLiga and AFE
“LaLiga and the Association of Spanish Soccer Players (AFE) have held a new meeting this afternoon in which they have worked on the following issues:
• ERTE: LaLiga and AFE continue to study different options and consider feasibility in the current scenario, so it has been decided to continue speaking at future meetings in the coming days.
• Competition calendars: The restart scenarios for the 19/20 competition in which the European Leagues and UEFA are working together, in the commission created by it to deal with this matter, and in which LaLiga actively participates, have been jointly analyzed. Likewise, and depending on each scenario, the effect of these in the next 2020/21 season has been analyzed. In this sense, the possible effects are evaluated in all the competitions of the following season, both national and international.
• Protocol back to training: The protocol of return to training has been followed in order to guarantee the highest degree of safety for the health of footballers and all the personnel who carry out their work with sports insoles. This protocol has been working for 10 days jointly between the two parties and will be shared with the rest of the European Leagues to try to homogenize and shape the training round.
In the coming days, LaLiga and the AFE will continue to hold meetings in order to continue analyzing actions in the current crisis situation caused by COVID-19. “