Spanish strike ends

The Primera Division season will finally get under way on Saturday after a second weekend of strike action was averted.


Talks between the Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) and Association of Spanish Footballers (AFE) finally reached a resolution on Thursday afternoon.


The AFE announced earlier this month that players from the top two divisions in Spain would go on strike for the first two rounds of the 2011-12 season unless an agreement with the LFP was reached.


The AFE wanted a guaranteed fund to protect players' wages in the event of their clubs being declared insolvent and they claim clubs in Spain owe around €50 million in unpaid salaries to more than 200 players from the end of last season.


However, a statement on the AFE website confirmed the matter was now resolved.


Discussions between the two parties last week failed to find a resolution, leading to the scheduled opening round of Primera Division and Segunda Division fixtures being postponed at the weekend, but the second round of matches includes champions Barcelona hosting Villarreal on Monday and Real Madrid travelling to Real Zaragoza on Sunday will now take place.


The first week's fixtures are scheduled to be played on December 28, but an agreement with the AFE still needs to be reached, as players' contracts ban them from playing during the festive period.