Spanish Roundup

Players owed record sums in wages

MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Spain's soccer players are owed a record sum in unpaid wages, their association was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Gerardo Gonzalez Movilla, president of the country's Players' Association, said that the debt to first and second-division players rose to almost euro44 million (US$50 million) last season. He said 325 players from the top two tiers of the league were involved.

The sum is more than double the euro18 million (US$ 20.5 million) owed last year, which was itself a record.

According to Spanish soccer federation rules, clubs have until the end of this month to pay off their debts or run the risk of relegation.

The association said that Atletico de Madrid is the biggest debtor with euro9 million (US$10.2 million) owed to 10 players. Atletico responded by saying it had recently reduced the sum to euro722,000 (US$820,000), the sports daily Marca reported Tuesday.

Three other topflight clubs, Valladolid, Racing de Santander, Espanyol, plus Murcia and Albacete, both newly promoted to the first division, have also not paid their players, the association said.

No one from the association was immediately available for comment.

"I wish with all my heart that these problems can be resolved as soon as possible," Gonzalez Movilla was quoted as saying by the daily El Pais on Tuesday.

A drought in player transfers and the fact that most clubs have not signed television contracts for next season have been contributing factors, reports said.

The association said recently that the problem could be alleviated if the Spanish Soccer League included pay guarantees for players in future TV deals. The association has scheduled a meeting with the Soccer League on July 28 to study the situation, media reported.

The record level of unpaid wages adds to the financial difficulties plaguing Spanish soccer.

In May, the league said clubs' combined debt reached euro1.6 billion (US$1.8 billion) up to the end of June 2002, and appealed to the government to bail out impoverished clubs.

Madrid's match in Malaysia canceled

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Spanish soccer powerhouse Real Madrid's match with Malaysia next month has been canceled, the Football Association of Malaysia said Tuesday, citing unavoidable reasons.

The Kuala Lumpur-based New Straits Times newspaper reported that Malaysian organizers had been unable to meet Madrid's request for an appearance fee of 11 million ringgit (US$2.9 million). The report did not identify its sources.

The announcement comes just days before Madrid embarks on a Far East tour that would include matches against a Chinese team in Beijing, J-League club FC Tokyo in Tokyo and China in Hong Kong.

In a brief statement, Malaysia's soccer body said the cancelation of the Aug. 10 match in Kuala Lumpur -- the final scheduled match of the tour -- was due to "reasons beyond the control of the national body."

The Real team includes soccer celebrities such as Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, the former Manchester United midfielder whom Real Madrid signed last month in a four-year, US$40 million deal. Beckham will make his debut for Real during the team's Asian tour.

However, Malaysia will still host the FA Premier League Asia Cup tournament comprising Chelsea, Newcastle, Birmingham City and the Malaysian national team and starting on Thursday.

It will be the first time the English Football Association has sanctioned such a tournament outside of Britain.

 

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