Spain’s Female Soccer Players Strike Over Wage Dispute

Female soccer players in Spain are going on strike as the club season begins, representatives from several players’ unions confirmed on Thursday, as a dispute over conduct by the head of the country’s soccer federation widened into a fight with the soccer clubs over pay.

Early this month, the women’s players’ union, Futpro, announced that if working conditions did not improve considerably before the start of the season on Friday, the women would not play the matches that are set to begin this weekend.

The dispute is playing out amid broader upheaval in Spanish soccer, with the firing on Tuesday of the women’s national soccer coach, Jorge Vilda, whom players had criticized for his domineering management style, and the filing of a criminal complaint against Luis Rubiales, the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, by Jennifer Hermoso, a player on the national women’s team whom Mr. Rubiales forcibly kissed during a public celebration of the team’s World Cup final victory in Australia last month.

Representatives from Liga F, the Spanish women’s soccer league that is negotiating on behalf of the clubs, and six players’ unions failed to reach an agreement during meetings in Madrid this week, with pay being the biggest point of contention.

“The players are feeling pretty angry,” said Amanda Gutiérrez, the head of Futpro. “They want to play, they don’t want this war.”

Ms. Gutiérrez said that negotiations between the league and the unions have stretched on for 11 months without any progress — a sign, she said, that the league does not take the players seriously.