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Uruguay players resort to strike threat over meagre pay
Montevideo, Feb 19: Uruguay`s soccer players have threatened to take strike action unless clubs agree to pay them higher wages, the South American nation`s Players` Association said.
Montevideo, Feb 19: Uruguay's soccer players have threatened to take strike action unless clubs agree to pay them higher wages, the South American nation's Players' Association said.
Nacional, Penarol and Fenix would refuse to play in the Libertadores Cup and local teams would decline to take part in the domestic championship unless players were better paid, the head of the Uruguayan Players' Association Pablo Hernandez said.
''People shouldn't kid themselves and think it is profitable to play soccer in Uruguay,'' Hernandez told local radio Tuesday adding that the Uruguayan Football Association had ''taken the mickey'' in talks with players.
First division players are demanding a minimum wage of 400 a month, while second division players want at least half that amount.
Some players in the cash-strapped nation earn as little as 50 dollars a month.
Players also argue that low wages are hurting the quality of the game in Uruguay.
Some young players are being forced to hold down other jobs to make ends meet and complain of poor living conditions.
Last year, Argentine player Nicolas Nicolay left local team Villa Espanola and returned to his native country to work in his family's business -- because it paid more.
Bureau Report
Nacional, Penarol and Fenix would refuse to play in the Libertadores Cup and local teams would decline to take part in the domestic championship unless players were better paid, the head of the Uruguayan Players' Association Pablo Hernandez said.
''People shouldn't kid themselves and think it is profitable to play soccer in Uruguay,'' Hernandez told local radio Tuesday adding that the Uruguayan Football Association had ''taken the mickey'' in talks with players.
First division players are demanding a minimum wage of 400 a month, while second division players want at least half that amount.
Some players in the cash-strapped nation earn as little as 50 dollars a month.
Players also argue that low wages are hurting the quality of the game in Uruguay.
Some young players are being forced to hold down other jobs to make ends meet and complain of poor living conditions.
Last year, Argentine player Nicolas Nicolay left local team Villa Espanola and returned to his native country to work in his family's business -- because it paid more.
Bureau Report