Anger, impotence, sadness... these are the feelings that have accompanied Levante Las Planas' frustrated return to the First Division. The Catalan team, which had already competed in the highest category of women's football in the 2012-13 and 13-14 seasons, returned to the elite yesterday and did so through the front door, against Barcelona. But the Catalan derby – the only one of the season after Espanyol's relegation – will have to wait. The strike of the arbitration group has paralyzed the first day and has left atypical scenes such as those that were experienced yesterday in the field of Les Planes (Sant Joan Despí).
Barça, like the rest of the visitors on the day, appeared on the field, but did so without any intention of exercising on the pitch. Some players came out in flip-flops, others in slippers… they commented in a huddle about the grotesque situation and took the opportunity to cheer up the large crowd that gathered on the Catalan pitch. Photographs, autographs and smiles to shed a little light on a dark day for women's football.
As soon as the regulation half hour passed and it was certified that there was no referee, the game was officially suspended. Barça, just as Real Madrid did on Saturday, recorded in the match minutes its disagreement with one of the points, the one referring to the will of the F League to apply disciplinary measures against the referees.
With the match suspended, the Barça team left the field and headed to their sports complex, where they exercised during the afternoon, already thinking about the next League match, scheduled for Saturday (12pm) at the Johan Cruyff against Granadilla. As long as the conflict with the referees is resolved. More complicated is the scenario that lies ahead for Levante Las Planas. Those of Ferran Cabello did take the opportunity to hold a training session and that is that the newly promoted must travel to Tenerife tomorrow to play the first round of the Copa de la Reina. "Our intention is to go and play, but we don't know what will happen," lamented the Catalan coach. Cabello acknowledged being “very unhappy with the situation” and added: “Our claim is against the Federation, not against the referees. We believe that they act with full rights, although I think it has been unfair for everyone that it has been done in these ways.
For the coach of Levante Las Planas, there is no doubt that it is a "boycott" by the Spanish Federation of the F League: "From the first day they have been doing everything they can to retain any aspect of the organization of this competition."
Barça coach Jonatan Giráldez also expressed his discomfort with the situation: “Plan, train and prepare for the start of the competition to go to the pitch knowing that you will not play. Impossible to justify that it has come to this. The affected? Players, staff, teams and fans. If we want a Professional League, we must look for a better way”, he pointed out.
The future is now totally uncertain. The clubs do not know if there will be referees in the Copa de la Reina matches, or if the conflict will have been resolved before next weekend. The referees will speak this afternoon (12:30 p.m.) to explain their position and it will be possible to begin to intuit if there is room for optimism.
For its part, the F League demonstrated again yesterday afternoon, summoning the members to a meeting "without intermediaries" at 5:00 p.m. at the headquarters of the Higher Sports Council (CSD). "The only way to solve this conflict is for the talks to be directly between the affected parties," they say. The F League wants to negotiate their fees directly with the referees and then meet with the RFEF to deal with the rest of the derived expenses, but the Federation, responsible for the arbitration of the competition, understands that since it is its competence, it must be the interlocutor in all talks. The positions are very far apart and the calendar is pressing.
