Levante may not play next week’s Spanish La Liga game with Recreativo Huelva after the players threatened a two-day strike over unpaid wages.
Levante captain Luis Rubiales said the team had unanimously backed the action for the weekend of April 26 and April 27. The game in Huelva is that Sunday.
“This action is legal. It is not just a stoppage. We will be open to negotiations, but we are going to take this to the limit,” Rubiales was quoted as saying by El Pais yesterday.
If Levante fails to play, the match would be awarded to Recreativo with a 3-0 score.
The newspaper said the club owes players a total of 18 million euros (US$28.7 million).
In February, some players said they have had their houses repossessed, while others said they had sold their cars and had their bank accounts frozen.
Levante said in a statement that it respected the players’ right to strike, but reserved the right to respond by taking legal action to protect the club’s interests.
“If it goes ahead, [the club] believes a strike could seriously damage the competition of the first division. The club’s board is working continuously, intensively and selflessly, shoulder to shoulder with [Valencia] city hall on financial and sporting solutions for the club,” it said.
The club could already face certain relegation. They are in last place and will be relegated tomorrow if they do not beat Getafe and Recreativo beat Zaragoza.
Coach Gianni De Biasi quit the club to rejoin Italy’s Torino on Wednesday.
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