Spanish footballers' strike history recalled as Asensi remembers 1979

What happened

Spanish footballers have used strikes five times in their history to secure better conditions, according to a report in AS. The newspaper recalled that history in a piece published as workers in Spain were called to strike over housing and decent wages.

Report details

The report focuses on the first of those stoppages, in 1979, and carries the recollections of Asensi, the Barcelona captain at the time. AS quotes him describing the period as terrible and recalling that the players were told they would not play again.

The account presents the strikes as the means by which Spanish players won rights, with the 1979 action identified as the first of the five. The source does not set out the specific demands behind that stoppage or the terms of the settlement that followed.