As things stand in La Liga’s table, the season seems poised for a photo finish between the two perennial houses of Spanish power: Barcelona, and Real Madrid. The Catalan giants hold the advantage, with a four point lead over Real, and two games left to play. But even as Barça can secure the title with their next match, they must do so not only on the road, but against defending champions Atletico Madrid. If Barcelona can triumph on the road, the title is theirs; if they drop points, then the title will be decided on the very last day of the season. The question, however, is just when, and even if, this season’s final day will come.
The federation of Spanish soccer, RFEF (the equivalent to the FA in England) has officially declared a suspension of all games, at all levels, to commence next weekend and to carry on indefinitely. The source of the suspension? A dispute over a bill passed by Spain’s government requiring a restructuring of La Liga’s television rights. The players union, AFE, has signed onto the suspension as well, lobbying against the new deal struck by the government. The league itself, however, is outspokenly defiant, claiming that matches should, indeed must go on as scheduled.
What’s This All About?
On the face of it, this might seem to be a drastic and conservative action to preserve the status quo, a state of affairs in which Barcelona and Real Madrid bag the lion’s share of television profits. In the current system, each club is allowed to sell television rights individually, and because there is a much greater global market for FC Barcelona than for, say, Real Sociedad, or even for a bigger club like Villareal or Sevilla, the rich get richer, and the small fish keep feeding near the bottom.
The new collective bargaining agreement that has been given the green light by the Spanish government—and supported by the officials of La Liga itself—would alter the system to resemble that used by the Premier League in the UK, a system in which television rights are shared more or less equally between all teams in the top division, with some variation dependent on how a team performs throughout the season. The teams that finish top of the league still stand to earn more, but the revenue generated by the big clubs would, at least in part, find its way into the coffers of the smaller teams, too. The country’s footballing association, however, feels slighted by the deal, and has officially declared the suspension of all matches, across all levels, in protest.
Strange Bedfellows
The AFE, Spain’s player union, had already threatened a work stoppage prior to the RFEF’s announcement, and has thus backed their decision. The AFE, however, has drastically different aims in mind. While the RFEF is concerned about a loss of control over the footballing affairs within Spain, the players union has more egalitarian, and arguably more praiseworthy motives. At first glance, the AFE might appear to be campaigning for the 1%, seeing as how the current situation overwhelmingly benefits the top teams, keeping Barcelona and Real Madrid in the ascendency. In reality, however, the AFE is protesting because they don’t feel this new deal benefits smaller clubs enough.
The Spanish players union is lobbying not just to have a system roughly as even-handed as that of the Premier League; they want television revenue sharing to be more even-keeled even between the top two divisions. Although the Premier League doles out ‘parachute payments’ to clubs relegated to the English Championship, their huge television profits still stay, for the most part, ‘in house.’ If the AFE has its way, then the massive profits revenue from the global spectacle that is El Clasico, Real Madrid v. Barcelona, would not only benefit the small clubs struggling at the bottom of La Liga, it would find its way into the bank accounts of second-tier, Segunda teams as well. Thus, on the one hand, Spanish football’s governing body wants to shore up its control over the support, and is protesting what it believes is a disenfranchisement of its own power. On the other, the players union—supported by megastars such as Barcelona’s Xavi Hernandez and Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas—is lobbying for more radical change, for an even more egalitarian distribution of wealth than the currently proposed change calls for. One group is saying one step forward is too much; the other is saying it’s not enough.
Where Do We Go From Here?
So, with just two matches left to play in the season, and with the title race poised for a climactic finish, we have ourselves a standoff: the players union and the football federation, versus the government and the league. La Liga doesn’t want to damage their brand and risk the loss of sponsorship due to a suspension of play; the government, facing pressure to change the economic situation not just within football but in the country more broadly, wants to make a statement about their willingness to create change on an economic level to more fairly accommodate the ‘disenfranchised’; the players want to make sure that this deal really does benefit those most disenfranchised, and not simply a few teams at the top; and, finally, the football federation wants the government to stay out of its business, which is football, and to avoid a precedent that might harm its autonomy.
Throw some honey in a blender with super glue and turpentine and you’ll have something akin to the stickiness of this situation.
Although it might seem impossible, a suspension of play is a very real possibility—and a grave one. It may be hard to believe, in part because the season has trundled on nearly to its conclusion, and in part because there is so much at stake, but the situation looks grim. There are bound to be a series of long, high-pressure discussions this week, both publicly and behind closed doors (including a nearly unprecedented meeting of all the teams in Spain’s top flight, slated for Monday), and it is not impossible that an agreement is come to before the weekend.
The worst case scenario is, admittedly, unlikely; it is also almost unthinkable, though possible. Should the RFEF dig in its heels, it has a very powerful—if somewhat self-defeating—card up its sleeve. FIFA regulations prohibit government interference in footballing administration, something that seems quite plainly to have happened here. Should the stalemate remain unresolved, and should the hostilities escalate, the worst case scenario is Spain’s suspension from all international competitions. That would mean a 2016 Champions League without Barcelona and Real Madrid, and it would mean a Euro 2016 Championship without Spain. Again, seemingly unthinkable, but a real threat; in this dispute, the stakes could hardly be higher.