Ahead of this year’s football season, the Spanish Women’s League, after a long struggle, has achieved professional status.
But this does not apply to the judges.
A couple of days before the premiere last weekend threatened the female referees with a strike – and then made it a reality.
“We have made the decision not to referee any matches in the women’s top division in the current working and economic conditions,” the referees wrote in a statement.
The organization of the league responded according to the Spanish newspaper Brand with the fact that “they did not intend to accept blackmail”. But since the premiere round canceled, tough negotiations are underway.
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Photo: Xavier Ballart / TT
The compensation on € 320 per game for a head referee and € 160 for an assistant referee (corresponding to approximately 3,400 and 1,700 SEK respectively) were too low, the judges felt.
According to the Spanish media, the College of Judges asked € 50,000 per year for female chief judges. The confederation and the League responded with an offer of 25,000 euros in a tripartite deal – and it is the offer that has finally been accepted. This means around 1,600 euros per game (around 17,000 crowns) for the head referee. The salary of assistant referees is simultaneously increased to € 1,066 per match (approximately SEK 11,000), writes Brand.
The agreement, valid for six years, allows the start of the season. In addition, for the first three years, the Spanish Football Association has to set aside the equivalent of around four million crowns in a pension fund for referees.
Star of the Swedish national team Fridolina Rolfö plays in the reigning Barcelona team. After Barcelona’s first game at Levante was canceled last week, Rolfö signed Instagram:
When the championship was professionalized, my hope was that conditions would be good for everyone in the sport. It means for everyone who has worked hard to make women’s football what it is. It is important that everyone is on this journey ”.
Now Barcelona starts the season on Saturday, at home against Granadilla Tenerife.