Ancelotti: La Liga will finish as scheduled

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti believes there will be no strike in La Liga and that the season will finish as scheduled. The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and the Spanish Footballers' Association (AFE) have called for a strike on the weekend of May 16 for the final two rounds of matches and the final of the Copa del Rey regarding issues with the new Royal Decree over audiovisual rights. The RFEF announced the decision on Wednesday night and AFE, headed by Luis Rubiales backed the decision on Thursday with big-name players such as Madrid's Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos, as well as Barcelona's Gerard Pique and Xavi, offering their support. Ancelotti was asked about the situation at Friday's press conference but believes the matter will be resolved sooner rather than later. "I truly believe that this is a matter that is going to be resolved over the coming days," said the Italian. "The parties will meet and take the right decisions so that La Liga ends on the scheduled date." Madrid travel to Espanyol on the penultimate weekend of the season and finish the campaign with a home match against Getafe. The strike has come about owing to the RFEF and AFE's lack of involvement in the deal and concerns over the money from a new centralised deal being passed on to unions covering women's football and Segunda B level amongst others. There has been more movement today with LFP president going to the High Court to take legal action to prevent the strike but AFE say they will not back down unless their voice is heard. “The AFE has been completely excluded, against the orders of our parliament," AFE president Rubiales told Marca. "The Professional Sports Subcommittee, which is represented by all political parties, ruled that a joint agreement was to be reached between all the parties involved, but the Government has not taken that into account." The LFP released a statement outlining their intentions. "The LFP has taken the corresponding legal actions to the necessary judicial and administrative bodies, in defence of the rights and legitimate interests of the clubs, as well as the rights of the very professional competitions that it organises and that have been grossly affected by the aforementioned decision by the RFEF," an official statement read. "The decision taken by the RFEF is null and void by law, not just for formal reasons, as it was not included in the day-to-day activities of the Delegate Commission, but also for material reasons, given that the Sports Law and the current Coordination Agreement attributes the LFP the right to organise professional competitions and approve the sporting calendar of said competitions. "For its part, the LFP has requested that the competent bodies reveal the names of those responsible in order to assess how many disciplinary actions may have to be taken, both in terms of the members of the Delegate Commission of the RFEF's General Assembly who participated in the adoption of this agreement and did not oppose it, as well as those individuals or groups who participated in its possible implementation. "Additionally, the LFP expressly reserves the right to take legal action to claim for the serious damages as well as any financial, sporting, social or any other kind of harm that may arise from today's decision by the RFEF being hypothetically enacted upon, in the name of both the affiliated clubs as well as the professional football competitions in question."