Women’s Football
Federation and Liga F yesterday forced the team to travel to Getxo (Vizcaya) even knowing that the Copa de la Reina match would not be played
The outrage at Alhama CF ElPozo is absolute. The team coached by Randri García had to travel to Getxo (Vizcaya) yesterday to play a match in the first qualifying round of the Copa de la Reina, which it was known since Tuesday that it was not going to be played, due to the arbitration strike that began last week past in Spanish women’s football. The displacement, which has been useless, has cost 13,000 euros to the modest entity from Alhama, which in a couple of weeks –once after eleven o’clock last night an agreement was reached between the F League and the referees – will have to make the same trip to the Basque Country again.
Tamara García, sports coordinator of Alhama CF ElPozo, commented to LA VERDAD that “we were forced to travel and present ourselves at the Bizkerre field [equipo de segunda división al que se enfrentan las murcianas en la primera eliminatoria de la Copa]», despite the fact that the clash between the Catalan Levante Las Planas and the Real Unión de Tenerife had already been canceled on Tuesday. The team from Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona) had to travel to the Canary Islands and present themselves on the pitch. The arbitral trio did not do so and the match was postponed.
It is exactly the same thing that happened yesterday to the Alhama expedition. The players and coaching staff left at half past four in the morning for the Alicante airport, where at seven they caught a flight to Bilbao. From there, to Getxo. At least, they disputed a pachanga by way of training against the Basque team. They have spent the night in Getxo and this morning they will return home, also by plane. No way. «There are 13,000 euros thrown away and in a couple of weeks it will be another 13,000. We are a small club, which has come out of the mud and has reached the elite with great enthusiasm. It costs us a lot to cover the budget and these things do us a lot of damage. We are very sad,” Garcia confessed.
In fact, the fairy tale that for Alhama CF ElPozo was their debut in the top flight is turning into a nightmare, since last Saturday’s historic First Division debut, at home against Madrid CFF, was also suspended due to the beginning of the referees’ strike. “We went to Madrid last week to the League F presentation gala with tremendous enthusiasm and in less than a week this whole situation has done us a lot of damage,” acknowledged the Alhameño club’s sports coordinator.
resolved conflict
Last night the conflict was resolved and the referees will now receive 25,000 euros per year. And the attendees, 16,000. Until June, when the league depended on the RFEF, the referees received 300 euros per game. Thus, once the strike is over, this Sunday’s league match against Levante by Silvia Lloris from Murcia (Complejo Guadalentín, 12:00) will be the first in the history of Alhama in the First Division.
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